Hungry ghosts. One of the types within the group *rokudō-e 六道絵 (paintings of…

Heavenly musicians. Heavenly beings *hiten 飛天, playing musical instruments,…

Ch: Xuanzhuang/Xuanzang (600/2-664). A Chinese monk of the Tang Dynasty and the founder of the Hossō sect (see *…

Genzu mandala. A version of the *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅 that is…

Goddess of the Arts. A minor Buddhist deity revered in Japan as patroness of the arts. According to the Gigei tennyo…

Sk: kalpa. Regulations prescribing Esoteric Buddhist mikkyō 密教 ceremonies, incantations and services, and the…

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

Lit. Five Wisdom *nyorai 如来 (Sk: Tathagatas); this refers to the Five Buddhas…

Also sometimes called godaison 五大尊. Lit. five great *myōō 明王. Myōō…

Lit. five great bodhisattvas of strength. Also godairikiku 五大力吼 (five roars of great strength) or godairikison…

Ch: wubai luohan. Five hundred arhats *rakan 羅漢, a Buddhist art subject…

Also read gokōshiyui Amida. Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 Meditating for Five Kalpas, a kalpa…

Ch: Wuzu. The Chinese priest Kōnin 弘忍 (Ch: Hongren, 601-75). The fifth patriarch of the Zen (Ch: Chan) sect. Representations…

Also Shōzanze Myōō 勝三世明王. Lit. *myōō 明王 who subjugates the three worlds…

Also called Butō 武塔, Gion Tenjin 祇園天神, or simply Tennō 天王. The deity of Yasaka Jinja 八坂神社 in Gion 祇園, Kyoto, also called…

Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 with Red Skin. An image of Amida depicted in red, or less commonly…

Also Kanro Gundari 甘露軍荼利 (Sk: Amrtakundalin); also known as Kirikiri Myōō 吉里吉里明王. One of the five great myōō *…

A name often used for *Shōkannon 聖観音, it refers to the simple (non-esoteric) form of…

A round metal or wooden plate with a separately made or repousse (hammered from the rear) image of a Shinto deity *…

The subject of a number of paintings in the possession of Danzan Jinja 談山神社 on Tōnomine 多武峯 in Nara. Kamatari is a deity…

A Shinto deity. Although the word deity may imply a singular definite presence, kami have no fixed number, form or…

Also read Kankiten. Also Shōten/Shōden 聖天. Abbreviation of Daishō kangiten 大聖歓喜天. The elephant-headed…

A transformation scene of the Pure Land *jōdo hensō 浄土変相 based on the…

Also Kanzeon 観世音, Kanjizai 観自在. The bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 who personifies…

Also called Kōya Myōjin 高野明神. An old hunter represented with a white dog or dogs or as a courtly figure in formal…

The Japanese name of the Indian deity (Sk: Hariti), a protector of children who was the wife of Panchika. Her name was…

Sk. kalavinka. Originally a sparrow-like bird that lived in the snowy mountains ofthe Himalaya range, reputed to possess a…

Devotional paintings of the deities and landscape of Kasuga Taisha 春日大社 which was founded in Nara in the 8th century as the…

A form of mandala *mandara 曼荼羅 in which the deities are…

Transliteration of the Sanskrit gandharva, translatedas jikikō 食香 (scent-eater), jinkō 尋香 (scent…

Disciples or followers of Buddha. Often refers to groups of devotees who accompany an important Buddhist deity, for example…

Also read Kisshōten. Also called Kichijōtennyo 吉祥天女 or Kudokuten 功徳天 (Sk: Sri Laksmi, Mahasri,…

Also read Kisshōten mandara. A variety of dedicated mandala *besson…

Lit. painting of Sakyamuni emerging from the golden coffin. A genre of painting depicting one of the scenes from the life of…

Also sometimes abbreviated to tenjin engi 天神縁起 (History of Kitano Tenjin). A combination biography and…

Lit. Great Master Kōbō. The posthumous name of *Kūkai 空海 (774-835), the founder…

Originally a Hindi term ghra-pati meaning a householder, trader, or farmer. In China the term came to be applied…

Also read Koshima mandara. A pair of Mandala of the Two Realms *Ryōkai…

Sometimes read Kokuzō. Space/Sky Repository (Sk: Akasagarbha, Khagarbha); also called Kokūyō 虚空孕 and in Japan often…

Lit. Korean dog. A pair of lion-like guardian figures placed at each side of a shrine or temple entrance; believed to ward…

Sk: Virupaksa. A guardian deity, believed to protect the west of Buddha's realm. Usually found as part of a group of Four…

Lit. the youth Kongara. One of two chief attendants of *Fudō Myōō 不動明王 (the…

Also *Niō 仁王, *…

Lit. Eighty-one Deity Mandala of the Adamantine Realm. A variety of *Kongōkai…

Lit. mandala of the Adamantine Realm (Sk: Vajradhatu mandala). A mandala *mandara…

Also written 金剛薬叉明王. Kongōyasha corresponds to Sanskrit vajrayaksa, which is also the name of one of the sixteen…

Also synonymous with Kubira 宮毘羅. A god and leader of the *Yasha 夜又, the…

Also called kubon ōjōraigō 九品往生来迎. The nine possible levels of birth into *…

The standard form of the *Kongōkai mandara 金剛界曼荼羅 widely used in Japan…

Lit. peacock king of those who hold knowledge. A female deity of Indian origin (Sk: Mahamayuri). The subject of the …

Early Heian period Buddhist priest (774-835), patriarch of the Shingon 真言 sect of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教…

Devotional paintings of the three shrines of Kumano, Kumano Sanzan 熊野三山, which are called Hongū 本宮 (Kumano Nimasu Jinja…

Also known as Kurika 矩里迦, a transliteration of Sanskrit Kulika, the name of a dragon-king *…

A painting illustrating the tradition of the Abidatsumakusharon  阿毘達磨倶舎論 (Sk: Abhidharmakos'a), a renowned…

An abbreviation of Kūya Shōnin 空也上人 or Saint Kūya (903-72), the monk responsible for the spread of Pure…