Abbreviation of Tenryū hachibushū 天竜八部衆. Eight classes of Indian deities who were converted by *…

Lit. eight great youths. Eight attendants of either *Monju 文殊 or more commonly *…

Lit. *Amida, 阿弥陀, with teeth exposed. An image of a standing Amida with his…

Devotional paintings of the cult of Hakusan 白山 (white mountains), a group of mountains that border Gifu, Fukui,…

In full Hannya-haramitsu (or Hannya-haramitta) bosatsu 般若波羅蜜(般若波羅蜜多)菩薩. A bodhisattva *…

The transformations in which *Kannon 観音 appears in order to save sentient…

Flying apsaras. Heavenly beings invisible to the human eye, believed to fly with superhuman power and speed. Found in Middle…

Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 with a Jeweled Crown. A typical representation of Buddha *…

Drawings or paintings, zu 図 depicting the doctrine and stories of the Lotus Sutra Hokekyō 法華経,…

Lit. Lotus Mandala. Also Hokekyō mandara 法華経曼荼羅 (mandala depiction of the Lotus Sutra), Hokekyō hōtō mandara…

A variety of mandala dedicated to specific deities *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅…

Commonly known as Hōnen Shōnin 法然上人 or St. Hōnen (1133-1212), founder of the Pure Land, Jōdo 浄土 sect in…

The original Buddhist identity of a Shinto deity *kami 神. Sometime before the…

Lit. Illustrations of original lives. The original lives; honjō 本生 or honshō, or former lives of the…

A specific type of mandala *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅, based on the Daihō…

Lit. star mandara. A variety of dedicated mandala *Butsugen mandara…

Lit. Six Patriarchs of the Hossō sect. In Japan: Shin'ei 神叡 (d. 737), Genbō 玄昉 (d. 746), Zenshu 善珠 (723-97), Gyōga 行賀(729-…

Ch: Budai. A semi-legendary, itinerant 10th-century Buddhist monk who became a popular subject in Chinese and Japanese ink…

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…