FUDO-MYOO,
or OFUDOSAN


Sanskrit Seed:
KAN


Sanskrit Seed:
UN

Name:
Acala-vidyaraja
(God of Fire)
Acalanatha
means
 "Immovable"

Some also say Fudo is the Hindu God Shiva. Flames in background said to represent the purification of the mind; in Kamakura, Fudo is enshrined at Joju-in and Myoo-in. Others say flame behind Fudo originated from the vomit of the mythical Karura.

Fudo Mantra in Japanese

Positioned in Center. Personification of Dainichi Nyorai; best known of the five, and one of the main deities of the Shingon sect. Converts anger into salvation; furious, glaring face, as Fudo seeks to frighten people into accepting the teachings of Dainichi; carries "kurikara" or devil-subduing sword in right hand (also represents wisdom cutting through ignorance); holds rope in left hand (to catch and bind up demons); often has third eye in forehead (all-seeing); often seated or standing on rock (because Fudo is "immovable" in his faith). In sculpture, Fudo is often flanked by two attendants, Kongara Douji 矜羯羅童子 and Seitaka Douji 制た迦童子.

Gozanze


Sanskrit Seed
UN

Name:
Trilokavijaya

Gozanze Mantra in Japanese

Positioned in East. Three threatening faces; eight arms; the enemy of foolishness and anger. Carries "Arrow of Mercy" to shoot at people who stray from path toward enlightenment; stands on two monsters, Daijizaiten and Uma.

Gundari

Sanskrit Seed
UN

Name:
Kundali

Photo courtesy Nara Nat'l Museum

Gundari Mantra in Japanese

Positioned in South. Three faces; eight arms (most holding weapons). Snakes usually coiled around ankles or neck. The enemy of devils.

Daitoku


Sanskrit Seed:
KIRIIKU

Name:
Yamantaka

Daitoku Mantra in Japanese

Positioned in West. Six faces; six legs; six arms holding various weapons; riding a white cow (cow is symbol of enlightenment); has power to suppress evil and create goodness. Guardian deity for Amida Nyorai in the Western Pure Land; power to vanquish poisonous snakes and dragons; worshiped as a deity of victory; Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) has statue of Daitoku from the 10th century.

Kongou-Yasha
Kongo Yaksha


Seed Sound:
UN

Name:
Vajra-yaksa

Kongou-Yasha Mantra in Japanese

Positioned in North. Three angry faces; six arms (or one head and four arms); destroyer of foolish human desires; symbolizes strength. Tendai Buddhists replace Kongo Yasha with Ususama Myouou.

Kongouyasha Myouou　金剛夜叉明王
Below text courtesy of JAANUS
Also written 金剛薬叉明王. "Kongouyasha" corresponds to Sanskrit Vajrayaksa, which is also the name of one of the sixteen great bodhisattvas (juuroku daibosatsu 十六大菩薩) of the Kongoukai Mandara 金剛界曼荼羅. One of the five great myouou (this page), the fierce gods who preside over the five directions. He represents the wrathful manifestation of Fukuujouju 不空成就, one of the five Buddhas of the Diamond Realm and presides over the northern quarter. In the Tendai 天台 sect his position is taken by Ususama Myouou 烏枢沙摩明王, but in the Shingon 真言 sect Kongouyasha and Ususama are clearly differentiated. Blue-black in colour, he is represented with three faces and six arms and standing on a lotus with one leg raised. His central face has five eyes, while the other two faces both have three eyes; his three left hands hold a vajra-bell, bow and wheel, and his three right hands hold a five-pronged vajra, arrow and sword. His rite was believed to be especially efficacious for subduing demons and enemies and for gaining the love and respect of others, but he did not become the object of an independent cult in Japan. Artistic representations of him, both statuary and pictorial, are usually found in sets of the godai myouou, but a polychrome painting of him from the Heian period is preserved at Daigoji 醍醐寺 (Kyoto), and there is also a mandala dedicated to him (Kongouyasha mandara 金剛夜叉曼荼羅).

Ususama Myouou　烏枢沙摩明王
Below text courtesy of JAANUS
Ususama (also Usushima 烏芻渋摩) is a transliteration of Sanskrit Ucchusma, originally an epithet of Agni, the Indian god of fire, meaning "one whose crackling becomes manifest." He is also known by various other names such as Eshaku Kongou 穢跡(積)金剛, Jusoku Kongou 受触金剛 and Kazu Kongou 火頭金剛. He is regarded by some as the wrathful manifestation of Fukuujouju 不空成就, one of the five Buddhas of the Diamond Realm (Kongoukai Gobutsu 金剛界五仏) and in the Tendai sect he replaces Kongouyasha Myouou 金剛夜叉明王 as one of the five great myouou (this page) who are the fierce gods who preside over the five directions, in which case he oversees the northern quarter. His cult appears to have been popular in China, and paintings of him are found among the murals of Dunhuang 敦煌 (Jp. Tonkou) where are preserved the cave paintings of a thousand Buddhas from the T'ang Dynasty (8c). He was introduced to Japan from China by the priest Kuukai 空海 (774-835), and he was invoked especially in rites for easy childbirth and the removal of impurities associated with childbirth. In the Shingon and Zen sects he is also revered as the tutelary god of the toilet. Ususama assumes a variety of wrathful forms with two, four, six or eight arms and is often adorned with skulls and snakes and enveloped in flames. An example of a two-armed image is preserved at Zuiryuuji 瑞龍寺 (Toyama prefecture). The texts also describe a number of mandara associated with Ususama, but there are few actual examples of them. 

Aizen


Seed Sound:
U-UN

Name:
Ragaraja

In some sects, considered manifestation of Vairocana

Aizen, Kamakura Period, at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine Museum in Kamakura

Aizen Mantra in Japanese

God of Love, King of Sexual Passion, converts earthly desires (love/lust) into spiritual awakening; saves people from the pain that comes with love; three faces, three eyes; six arms (typically holding weapons; often wears crown containing a shishi (magical lion); red body, symbolizing the power to purify sexual desire; often carries a bow and arrow (like Cupid); enshrined at Kakuonji Temple in Kamakura. 

Kamakura Era
 Photo courtesy Tokyo National Museum

Aizen is revered in Japan's gay quarters as the patron of love.

Kujaku
Kujyaku

Rain God or Peacock Wisdom King.
Wards off evil from poisoning or calamity; prayed to in times of drought, poisoning, and disaster; rides a peacock (in India, the peacock is famous for eating poisonous snakes); one face, four arms. Another photo can be viewed here.

Bato
Batou

Myo-o with Horse Head. Most often shown with three faces and eight arms; able to eat anything, thus called on in times of need -- i.e., Bato will "eat" your troubles away.

Bato Myo-o is one of the many incarnations of Bato Kannon, and is more venerated in China than in Japan. Visit the Bato Kannon link for more details. Above photo courtesy of www1.kcn.ne.jp/~yosikatu/sikokureijyou01.htm

Shinshoji Temple (in Narita, near Narita Int'l Airport)
Shinshoji is dedicated solely to the Myo-o. Its main object of worship is a statue of Fudo Myo-o. Behind the main hall stands a huge tower (erected in 1984) housing a complete set of the Godai Myo-o (The Five Myo-o).