Also Taigensui Myōō 太元帥明王. Sometimes read Daigen Myōō. In Sanskrit, Atavaka, which means lord of the forest, and which is…

Lit. *myōō 明王 of great awesome virtue. A god thought so powerful as to be able to…

Translation of Sanskrit Mahesvara (also transliterated as Makeishura 摩醯首羅), one of the many names of Shiva, who, along with…

Daikokuten is generally famous as a god of luck. He is most familiar in Japan as a fat, smiling figure with a big sack over…

Lit. Great Sun. Translation of the Sk. Mahavairocana "(Great) Illuminating One"; also translated as (Dai)Henjō (大)遍照 "(Great…

Sk: Bodhidharma. Ch: Damo. A semi-legendary Indian monk credited with bringing the teachings of Zen (Ch: Chan) to China.…

Lit. child, young boy.

1　A boy between 8 and 20 years old living in a Buddhist temple. He studies…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 (a form of mandara centered…

Also Sae-no-kami 塞の神 (also read Sai-no-kami), Dōrokujin 道陸神, and other less common names. A folk deity associated with roads…

Mandala of Taima. The most complete depiction of the *Kangyō hensō…

A major Hindu god called Indra or Sakra who has two major roles in Buddhist literature, one as king of the gods and lord of…

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

A *mandara 曼荼羅 based on the Dainichikyō 大日経 (Sk: …

A sailboat hokakebune 帆掛船 at full sail, loaded with rice bushels and treasures takara 宝, often bearing the…

Also *Bishamonten 毘沙門天. Sk: Vaisravana. A fierce guardian deity believed to protect…

Lit. "Buddha at birth." A sculptural representation of the historical Buddha *Shaka 釈迦…

A female form of *Kannon 観音 who appears as the mother of the Kannon section (Kannon'in…

An Indian god (Sk: deva) or goddess (Sk: devi) of non-Buddhist origin. When referring to such deities, the character "bu…

Lit. "heaven people."

1　The heavenly gods as opposed to the gods of earth, chigi 地祇.
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A manifestation of *Bishamonten 毘沙門天 said to have appeared in the Central Asian…

Tenjin crossing to China. The Heian period courtier, poet, and scholar Sugawara Michizane 菅原道真 (845-903) was deified as the…