Also read shoshuku; also shukuyō 宿曜. Meaning constellation, this term refers in Buddhist iconography…

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

Sk: Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokitesvara. Thousand-armed Kannon or *Kannon 観音 with a…

Lit. "the Buddha *Amida 阿弥陀 preaching a sermon seppō 説法." A…

Lit. "eight phases (or aspects) of Shakamuni *Shaka 釈迦." Also referred to as hassō…

Lit. "Shaka triad." A group of 3 Buddhist images composed of *Shaka 釈迦…

1　Abbreviation of Shakamuni 釈迦牟尼 or Shakamon 釈迦文 (Sk: Sakyamuni), meaning sage of the Sakyas. The name by…

Lit. "the Four Buddhas."

1　The first four Buddhas said to have appeared during the current era of…

Lit. "Seven Buddhas of Healing." Seven manifestations of *Yakushi 薬師 or the Master of…

Lit. "the seven gods of good fortune." The group comprises *Ebisu 恵比須, *…

A mandala produced for a specific ceremony or ritual use. Lit. "*mandara 曼荼羅…

Lit. "eight patriarchs of the Shingon sect." The founders of Esoteric Buddism mikkyō 密教. These mythical and…

Offerings made at shrines to Shinto gods *kami 神. The most sacred…

Also read Shiragi Myōjin and Shinra Zenjin 新羅善神. The deity that protects Miidera 三井寺 (Onjōji 園城寺) at the eastern foot of Mt…

An abbreviation of Shinran Shōnin 親鸞聖人 (1173-1262), the founder of the New Pure Land sect, Jōdo shinshū 浄土真宗 of Buddhism.…

Lit. "body of the *kami 神." A sacred object which is worshiped as a…

An image, either in sculpture or painting, of a deity *kami 神 in its Shinto or…

Four types of mandala, the dai mandara 大曼荼羅 (great mandala), *Sanmaya…

Four Guardian Kings. Pre-Buddhist Indian deities including *Taishakuten 帝釈天 and *…

Sk: Aryavalokitesvara. Also written 正観音. This is the term for the simplest form of *Kannon…

Also known as Seishoku Daikongō Yasha 青色大金剛薬叉. A deity who protects against diseases believed to be caused by demons. Shōmen…

Idealized portraits in sculpture and painting made for the worship and reverence of Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子 (ca. 574-…

*Mandara 曼荼羅 (mandala) of the Sutra for Praying for Rain. A variety…

Lit. "seed syllable mandala." A mandala *mandara 曼荼羅 in which the deities are…

Also read Shūkongōjin. Also called Kongōshu 金剛手, Jikongō 持金剛, *…

Mt. Sumeru. Also called Myōkōsan 妙高山 or Kinzan 金山. A great mountain that, according to ancient Indian cosmology, towers…

Lit. "Buddha coming forth from the mountains." A scene from the life of the historical Buddha (Sk: Sakyamuni, *…

One of the most popular Shinto deities, who is shown in the form of a Buddhist monk and who protects warriors and the…

Lit. "mandala in the form used for worship." Devotional paintings (usually on large hanging scrolls) showing the deities of…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 that evolved from the cult centered…

Important Buddhist teachers, high priests, and founders of Buddhist sects; often worshipped by followers. Statues and…

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.
…

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…

An abbreviation of Kongō sekishō zenshin uhō dōji 金剛赤精善神雨宝童子. A manifestation of the Buddha *…

Ususama also Usushima 烏芻渋摩 is a transliteration of the Sanskrit Ucchusma, originally an epithet of Agni, the Indian…

Also read Udennō. Lit. "King Udayana." An Indian king, reportedly the first person to commission a statue of the Buddha. The…

Lit. "Shinto image of a young prince." A generic term covering both images of a divine son of the main enshrined Shinto…

The name of the Buddha associated with healing. Sino-Japanese rendering of Sanskrit Bhaisajyaguru, meaning "Medicine Master…

Also read Yamagoshi no Amida; Amida yamagoe (yamagoshi) raigō 阿弥陀山越来迎. Lit. "Amida…

Also yakusha 薬叉 (Sk: yaksa), a class of semi-divine beings usually considered to be of a benevolent and…

Also called Yakuō Kannon 薬王観音. Lit. "Willow Kannon" or "*Kannon 観音 with a willow branch…

Devotional paintings of the deities and landscape of Mt. *Yoshino 吉野. Yoshino…

Sk: Vimalakirti (pure reputation); Ch: Weimo. Indian Buddhist layman (Ch: jushi, Jp: koji 居士) famous for…

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…