The Deva Dakini 荼吉尼天像だきにてんぞう

Description

The figure astride a white fox in the center is Dakini. The deity has three faces - an elephant's at the front and two heavenly maidens to the left and right. With 12 arms and a mighty pair of wings, the depiction conveys a sense of extraordinary power. Dakini is surrounded here by attendant disciples and several guardian gods.

Dakini was originally a fearsome goddess from Hinduism. She knew six months beforehand when someone would die, and she would come to eat their hearts soon after death. Later she became one of the guardian deities in Buddhism, and the depiction of her riding a fox, as seen here, is unique to Japan. It is connected to Japan's ancient cult of Inari, which viewed the fox as a sacred animal.

Prayers and incantations to Dakini were believed to have great power and were sometimes used to curse enemies.

This painting is based on Japanese folk beliefs. Near the bottom, an elephant-headed goddess rides a giant white fox. Originally a Hindu deity, she was thought to foresee a person’s death six months in advance and devour their heart. From the medieval period onward, she became associated with foxes, which were also believed to predict death and steal people’s life energy.