An abbreviation of Nichiren Shōnin 日連上人 (1222-82). A radical reformer of popular Buddhism and founder of the …

Lit. "25 bodhisattvas *bosatsu 菩薩." The bosatsu that are…

The 28 attendants of *Senju Kannon 千手観音. They protect those who place…

Lit. "28 lunar mansions." In the astronomical theory of both ancient India and China the path of the moon during a single…

Also read niga byakudō-zu. Lit. "picture of Two Rivers and the White Path." Inspired by a parable taught by the…

Solar Radiance and Lunar Radiance.

1　Sk: Suryavairocana and Candravairocana. Two…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 based on the Ninnō Gokoku Hannya…

Also written 二王. Also called *niten 二天 and Niōson 仁王尊. Lit. "two kings" or "benevolent kings."…

A pair of devas *ten 天 or Buddhist guardian gods, such as *…

Also Niutsuhime Myōjin 丹生都比売明神. A female mountain deity that resides in Mt. Kōya 高野. According to legend *…

Sk: Cintamanicakra. A form of *Kannon 観音, most often six armed and…

Lit. "the thus-come one." Sk: tathagata. One who has realized true enlightenment. In order to reach this state of…

Also Kongō Zaō Bosatsu 金剛蔵王菩薩. The deity of Kinpusen 金峰山 in Nara, one of the most important deities of the Japanese…

Commonly known as Zendō Daishi 善導大師 (Ch: Shandao Dashi, 613-81) or Great Master Zendō . The third patriarch of Pure…

Ch: Chanyueyang Luohan. A type of ink painting of arhats or *rakan 羅漢…

Also known as Zenmyō nyoshin 善妙女神. A deity that protects the Kegon 華厳 sect of Buddhism. According to the legend, a…

Lit. "Dragon King Zennyo." The subject of a painting by one of the disciples of *Kūkai 空海…

Sk: Virudhaka. A fierce-looking guardian deity *funnusō 忿怒相, believed to…