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…

Also written 曼陀羅 or 曼拏羅. Mandala. A diagram that depicts Buddhist deities according to certain geometric formats and…

The name used for the images of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ in the guise of *Kannon…

Transliteration of Sanskrit Marici, the name of a Buddhist goddess representing an amalgamation of several Hindu antecedents…

The protective deity of the Jōgyō zanmaidō 常行三味堂 of Enryakuji 延暦寺 on Mt. Hiei 比叡 in Kyoto. He is usually portrayed…

Also popularly known as Manari Myōjin 馬鳴明神 or Sanjin 蚕神 (God of Silkworms). A bodhisattva *…

Lit. "Amida looking back." An image of a standing *raigō-in Amida 来迎印阿弥陀…

Also called Komori Myōjin 子守明神 and may appear in the triad known as Mikomori Sannyoshin 御子守三女神 (see below). The deity of…

Also read shin'yo. Also written 御輿. A palanquin used to transport Shinto deities. A mikoshi was believed…

Also Jishi 慈氏, lit. "compassionate one" (Sk. Maitreya). A bodhisattva *bosatsu…

A term whose definition falls under three headings. The first refers to representations of specific Shinto deities, often in…

Lit. "mandala of a shrine." Devotional paintings (usually on large hanging scrolls) of the landscape of a shrine and its…

An abbreviation of Monjushiri 文殊師利 (also Manjushiri 曼殊室利), which transliterates Sk. Manjusri. Also translated Myōkichijō 妙吉祥…

Asanga and Vasubandhu, two 5th century Indian brothers instrumental in founding the Hossō 法相 school of Buddhism. Asanga (Jp…

Sk: Sudrsti, also Sonshōō 尊星王 or Hokushin bosatsu 北辰菩薩. Originally a deification of the Polestar, …

Translation of Sanskrit vidyaraja, meaning spell-king. Vidya literally means knowledge, but in Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō…