Description
Daiitoku Myōō (Skt. Yamāntaka) is one of the Five Wisdom Kings of the esoteric Buddhist pantheon, though icons of this powerful deity were occasionally made as an independent icon. This deity was the principal icon used in prayers to repel the enemies of Buddhism or to achieve victory in warfare. Its tempered mode of carving and the sense of tranquility to the entire statue exemplify the style of images made in the latter part of the Heian period (794–1185).
The statue with six arms and legs mounted on the back of water buffalo. As one of the Five Great Myōō, it was sometimes placed in a westward direction, however it was more often enshrined as a single image. As an independent statue, it was applied as a principal icon during the Esoteric Buddhist ceremony, however many examples were produced to pray for victory.
Data source
ColBase
"ColBase: Integrated Collections Database of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan" is a service that enables a multi-database search of the collections in the four national museums (To...
Contents holder/Provider
Aggregator
National Institutes for Cultural Heritage
The National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) comprise four National Museums (Tokyo National Museum, Kyoto National Museum, Nara National Museum, and Kyushu National Museum) and two National Research Institutes for Cultural Properties (Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties), as well as the International Research Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (IRCI) in Sakai City, for a total of seven institutions.
Last updated
March 30, 2026