7 LUCKY GODS MENU Intro Page Benzaiten     Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fukurokuju Hotei Jurōjin Bishamonten Spellings Jp. = Bishamon 毘沙門 Jp. = Bishamonten 毘沙門天 Jp. = Bishamontennō 毘沙門天王 Skt. = वैश्रवण, Vaiśravaṇa Chn. = Píshāmén 毘沙門 Krn. = Bisamun, Pisamun Krn. = Damun Cheonwang, 비사문 Bishamonten Mantra おん　べいしらまなや　そわか On Beishiramanaya Sowaka Sanskrit Seed Pronounced VAI or BEI in Japan Bishamonten, Wood, H = 176 cm Kurama Temple 鞍馬寺, Kyoto Heian Era, Nat’l Treasure

BISHAMON, BISHAMONTEN
God of War, Warriors, and Wealth
Aka Tamonten (Guardian of the North).
Black Warrior, Protector of Buddhism.
Manifestation of Kuvera / Kubera (Hindu God of Weath).
As Tobatsu Bishamon, protects capitals & repulses foreign invaders.

Member of the TENBU and JŪNITEN
One of the SHITENNŌ and NIJŪHACHI BUSHŪ
One of Japan’s SEVEN LUCKY GODS
One of the 33 FORMS OF KANNON
Associated Virtue = DIGNITY

Origin: India
Sanskrit = Vaiśravaṇa, Vaishravana, Vaisravana

 
Stone statue in private garden
in Kamakura City, Early 20th Century

Male. The god of war and warriors, and a dispenser of wealth and good fortune. Bishamonten 毘沙門 is also considered a god of healing, with the power to save emperors from life-threatening illness and to expel the demons of plague. One who hears everything; lord of north; bestower of treasure and wealth; heals illness; expels demons and evil; also known as the Great Black Warrior.

Bishamonten is usually clad in armor, with a spear (trident) or sword in one hand and a pagoda (stupa) in the other. He is the scourge of evil doers, and the most powerful among the Four Heavenly Kings, the Guardians of the Four Directions (Jp. = Shitennō; Skt. = Lokapala), who he commands. When portrayed among the four, he is known as Tamonten. Among the four, he alone is worshipped independently in Japan. He is also one of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods.

Bishamon’s name in Sanskrit is Vaiśravaṇa, which means “one who hears everything in the kingdom.” It is very likely that his imagery and iconography originated with the Hindu deity named Kubera / Kuvera.

The small pagoda (stupa) he often carries symbolizes the divine treasure house of Buddhist teachings and treasures. He is both a protector of and dispenser of its bounty -- he shares the pagoda’s vast treasures with only "the worthy." In Japan, as a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, he is called Tamonten (Listens to Many Teachings), and in this capacity he protects the places where the Historical Buddha preaches and listens always to Buddha’s teachings. Said to live halfway down the north side of Mount Shumisen 須弥山 (Skt. = Mt. Sumeru), the mythical home of the Historical Buddha and other divinities, Bishamon/Tamonten protects the north, and commands two classes of supernatural spirits and demons -- the Yasha (Yaksa) and the Rasetsu (Raksha).

Tamonten 13th Century, H = 155.5 cm Wood, Yosegi-zukuri Technique Photo courtesy Nara National Museum

Tamonten 多聞天 (another name for Bishamonten)

Tamonten
Protector of the North
Bishamonten is also known as Tamonten, the Guardian on the North, and the most powerful of the Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō), the Guardians of the Four Compass Directions. As a member of the Shitennō, he listens to sutras, protects holy places, carries a pagoda-shaped treasure house in his left hand, and a spear in his right. Associated with the color black (others say blue), Tamonten is the god of war and protector against demons. For many more details and photos, please see the TAMONTEN page.  

Animal Associations
Unknown, but Bishamon is also sometimes referred to as the Shintō warrior Hachiman, and Hachiman's animal is the pigeon. In the Kamakura Era, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine was the main shrine for warriors to pray for victory prior to battle. Even today, hundreds of pigeons congregate daily on the roofs of the shrine complex, and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine today remains a major site of popular pilgrimage.
        

Kubera / Kuvera, Modern Statue Photo from Nepal & Tibet Handicrafts Ivory Bishamonten in collection of Andres Bernhard AKA Rapick - Italy Bishamonten with bow and arrow. 12th Century Scroll, Nat’l Treasure Photo courtesy Tokyo National Museum Demon fleeing from Bishamonten 12th Century Scroll, Nat’l Treasure Photo courtesy Tokyo National Museum Kubira 宮毘羅 One of 12 Heavenly Guardians Clay 塑像 & paint (saishiki 彩色) H = 165.1 cm standing statue. Shin-Yakushiji Temple 新薬師持 Nara Era. Photo: Ogawa Kōzō Tamonten Holding Pagoda 13th Century, H = 155.5 cm Wood, Yosegi-zukuri Technique Photo courtesy Nara National Museum

BISHAMONTEN NOTEBOOK

• Kubera: Hindu God of Wealth. Says Meher McArthur, the curator of East Asian Art at the Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena): “In Tibet and Nepal, Vaishravana (Jp. = Bishamonten / Tamonten) is closely related to the God of Wealth, Kubera, who is considered to be his most important manifestation. It is possible that Vaishravana is the Buddhist form of the earlier Hindu deity, Kuvera / Kubera, who was the son of an Indian sage, Vishrava, hence the name, Vaishravana. According to Hindu legend, Kubera performed austerities for a thousand years, and was rewarded for this by the greator god, Brahma, who granted him immortality and the position of God of Wealth, and guardian of the treasures of the earth. As Vaishravana, this deity also commands the army of eight Yasha (Yaksa), or demons, who are believed to be emanations of Vaishravana himself. The most important of these eight are the dark-skinned Kuvera / Kubera of the north and the white Jambala of the east. Each of these emanations holds a mongoose that spews jewels. In Tibet and Nepal, he is worshipped as the God of Wealth in all three manifestations: Vaishravana, Kubera, and Jambala.” Meher also says: “In many Tibetan and Nepalese images of Kuvera/Kubera, the deity is shown as a plump figure wearing a crown, ribbons and jewelry, and holding a mongoose, representing this god’s vistory over the naga (snake deities), who symbolize greed. As God of Wealth, Vaishravana/Kubera squeezes the mongoose and causes the creature to spew out jewels.” <Quoted from McArthur’s book “Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs & Symbols.” ISBN 0-500-28428-8, Published 2002 by Thames & Hudson. Click here to view or buy book at Amazon. For more on Kubera, please click here.
   
• Bishamonten is one of the thirty-three forms of Avalokitêśvara (Jp. = Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy) as given in the Lotus Sūtra's 普門品 chapter.
   
• Kichijōten, Kichijoten, Kisshōten 吉祥天. Goddess of Fortune in Japan. Wife of Vishnu in Hindu myths; wife or sister of Bishamonten in Buddhist myths. See Kichijōten page.
   
• Protector of Devotees of the Lotus Sutra.
  <Below text and adjacent photos courtesy of the Tokyo National Museum> Here, Bishamonten is portrayed as a benevolent deity who protects devotees of the Lotus Sutra. Examples of Bishamon holding a bow, as he is painted here, are found in Chinese works of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. This scroll, called the Extermination of Evil (Hekija-e) or Exorcists Scroll, is conjectured to have been made during the time of Emperor Goshirakawa (1127-92, r. 1155-58) in the latter part of the Heian period (794-1185) and kept in the treasure house of Rengeo-in Temple (Sanjusangendo). All the deities shown here [in the five scolls] are considered, in China, to be benevolent deities who expel the demons of plague. This set was originally mounted as a handscroll that was known as the ‘second edition of the Masuda family Hell Scroll.’ After the war, the hand scroll was cut into five sections and the paintings mounted as hanging scrolls. The acts of each of the gods in exterminating evil are briefly explained in the texts accompanying the illustrations. <end text from Tokyo National Museum>
   
• Says scholar Brian D. Ruppert of Harvard University: “Bishamonten 毘沙門 (天); also known as 吠室羅未拏 Beishiramana [bana, banu], 毘舎羅門 Bisharamon, 多聞 Tamon, 倶吠羅 Kubeira, 金毘羅 Konpira, and 拘毘羅毘沙門 Kubira Bishamon. Bishamon, called Vaiśravaṇa in India, guards the north as one of the celestial four deity-kings of the cardinal directions. Associated with victory in battle, Bishamon was also believed capable of bringing success to a variety of endeavors. Often portrayed as carrying a jeweled stupa in his left hand, his image was installed in temples such as Kurama-dera and above the Rashōmon gate in Heian-kyō (Kyoto) during the Heian era (this image was later removed to Toji Temple (see Tobatsu Bishamon below). He was the object of esoteric Buddhist rites by the mid-Heian era and was later included among the seven deities of good fortune.” <end quote by Ruppert>
   
• Eight Yasha Generals of Bishamonten (aka Bishamonten Yasha Hachidaishō 毘沙門天夜叉八大将). Says JAANUS: “Yasha 夜叉. Also Yakusha 薬叉 (Skt. = Yaksa). A class of semi-divine beings usually considered to be of a benevolent and inoffensive disposition but sometimes also classed with malignant spirits such as the Rasetsu 羅刹. The female counterparts are called Yashanyo 夜叉女 (Skt. = Yaksi, Yaksini) and were regarded in particular as tree nymphs or symbols of fertility. Yasha were adopted into Buddhism at an early stage, and many finely executed stone reliefs and statues are to be found at Sanchi, Mathura, and elsewhere in India. Eventually they came to be included among the eight classes of being that protect Buddhism (Hachibushū 八部衆). They also act as attendants of Bishamonten 毘沙門天, who is said to have under his command Eight Yasha Generals. The Twelve Divine Generals (Jūni Shinshou 十二神将 who protect devotees of Yakushi Buddha 薬師 and the Sixteen Good Gods (Jūroku Zenjin 十六善神) who protect the Daihannyakyō 大般若経 (Great Wisdom Sutra) also belong to the category of Yasha. 
   
• Tobatsu Bishamonten 兜跋毘沙門天
  Tōhachi Bishamonten 刀八毘沙門天 (alternative spelling for Tobatsu Bishamonten). Says JAANUS: “A manifestation of Bishamonten said to have appeared in the Central Asian kingdom of Tou-po (Jp: Tobatsu 兜跋) during the Tang dynasty. Although sometimes linked to Tu-fan 吐蕃 (ancient Tibet), the identity of this kingdom remains unknown. Tobatsu Bishamonten was invoked in particular for the protection of capital cities and the repulsion of foreign invaders, and depictions of him have been found among the murals of Tun-huang (Jp. = Tonkō 敦煌). In appearance he is characterized by his close-fitting armour, tight at the waist and reaching down below the knees. He wears a crown, holds a miniature pagoda (hōtō 宝塔) in the palm of his right hand and a club or trident in his left. He stands on the upturned palms of the earth goddess Jiten 地天, who is flanked by two demons. The oldest image of him in Japan is a wooden statue preserved at Tōji Temple 東寺, Kyoto, said to have been brought from Tang China and originally installed in the upper story of Rajōmon 羅城門, the main entrance to Heiankyō 平安京 (now Kyoto), in order to protect this former capital of Japan. This statue provided the model for subsequent Japanese images of him which are found most often in the Kyūshū 九州 and Tōhoku 東北 regions, where his cult appears to have flourished during the Heian period because of his alleged efficacy in repulsing foreign invaders to which these areas were particularly susceptible. Examples include those at Kanzeonji Temple 観世音寺 in Fukuoka prefecture, Eikōji Temple 永興寺 in Ōita prefecture, and Narushima Bishamondō 成島毘沙門堂 in Iwate prefecture. <end JAANUS quote> Editor’s Note: Why is Bishamon standing in Jiten’s upturned hands? Unknown, but Bishamon is the dispenser of earthly treasures, so it is perhaps befitting that Jiten (the earth goddess) is appropriated for the task of upholding Bishamon.

NOTES OF CONFUSION
GREAT BLACK ONES, BLACK WARRIORS
KUBERA, MAHAKALA, & DAIKOKUTEN
There are many similarities between Daikoku (aka Mahakala, Great Black One), and Kubera (Hindu god of wealth). In Japan, Daikoku is associated closely with Mahakala. He is not, to my knowledge, considered a manifestation of Kubera, as some site readers have suggested. In Japan, Kubera is better known as Tamonten or Bishamonten. Kubera is the Hindu god of darkness, treasures, and wealth, and guards the north. His color is BLACK, and he is sometimes called the "Black Warrior." In India, his symbols are the flag, the jewel, and the mongoose. In Japan, his symbols are a jewel and a serpent. The Kinnara (Kimnara) are celestial musicians with human bodies and horses' heads, officiating at the court of Kubera / Kuvera. In China, Buddhist monks claim that the Taoist deity of the Kitchens, Zao Jun, is in fact a Kinnara. In India, and Hindu legends, the Kinnara are birds of paradise, and typically represented as birds with human heads playing musical instruments.

Daikoku and Kubera thus share the following associations -- the color black, the kitchen (see kitchen gods), and wealth. Yet, to my knowledge, in Japan, Daikoku is not known as Kubera, and Kubera is not known as Daikoku. Nevertheless, it is not impossible that some localities in Japan consider Daikoku to be a manifestation of Kubera or vice versa. However, with no concrete evidence to underpin this association, I will continue to consider Daikoku and Kubera as independent and separate deities despite their overlapping iconography. For more on Japan’s various kitchen gods, click here.

MORE ABOUT KUBERA / KUVERA
Daikokuten originates from the Hindu deity Mahakala, the “Great Black One.” Mahakala in turn may have originated from another Hindu deity named Kubera (Kuvera), the latter closely associated with the color black and wealth. The situation gets even more complicated, for Tamonten (also known as Bishamonten), the chief of the Four Heavenly Kings and the guardian of the north and winter, is also considered a primary emanation of Kubera / Kuvera. Says Meher McArthur, the curator of East Asian Art at the Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena):

• “According to the writings of a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, images of a seated god holding a bag of gold were placed at the doorways of monasteries and were anointed with oil by worshippers. The oil turned the statues black, and so the figures were known as Mahakala, or “Great Black One.” The bag of gold is an attribute of the Hindu deity Kubera, the God of Wealth, so the deity may have originated as Kubera. In Nepal, images of Mahakala closely resemble Kubera and may be one and the same deity. In Japan, Mahakala is worshipped as Daikoku or Makiakara-ten, the “Great Black One” in Esoteric Buddhism. But since the 17th century, the deity became better known as Daikoku or Daikokuten, the God of Wealth, and one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin).” 
  
  <quoted from McArthur’s book “Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs & Symbols.” ISBN 0-500-28428-8, Published 2002 by Thames & Hudson. Click here to view or buy book at Amazon. >   
   
• Kubera (Kuvera), the Hindu god of wealth and buried treasure, is sometimes considered the king of the Yaksha. Yaksha are powerful earth deities. They guard the world's wealth, such as gold and silver. In the same book, Meher McArthur says this: “In Tibet and Nepal, Vaishravana (Jp. = Bishamonten / Tamonten) is closely related to the God of Wealth, Kubera, who is considered to be his most important manifestation. It is possible that Vaishravana is the Buddhist form of the earlier Hindu deity, Kuvera, who was the son of an Indian sage, Vishrava, hence the name, Vaishravana. According to Hindu legend, Kubera performed austerities for a thousand years, and was rewarded for this by the greator god, Brahma (Jp. = Bonten), who granted him immortality and the position of God of Wealth, and guardian of the treasures of the earth. As Vaishravana, this deity also commands the army of eight Yasha (Jp. = Yaksa), or demons, who are believed to be emanations of Vaishravana himself. The most important of these eight are the dark-skinned Kuvera of the north and the white Jambala of the east. Each of these emanations holds a mongoose that spews jewels. In Tibet and Nepal, he is worshipped as the God of Wealth in all three manifestations: Vaishravana, Kubera, and Jambala. In many Tibetan and Nepalese images of Kubera, the deity is shown as a plump figure wearing a crown, ribbons and jewelry, and holding a mongoose, representing this god’s vistory over the naga (snake deities), who symbolize greed. As God of Wealth, Vaishravana (aka Kubera) squeezes the mongoose and causes the creature to spew out jewels.”  

Tamonten (Bishamonten)
Fengxian Temple 奉先寺, China, Ancestor Worshipping Temple
Carving began in 672, completed circa 672-675 AD
Tamonten (aka Bishamonten), one of Four Heavenly Kings
standing atop evil creature known in Japan as Jaki.
For many more photos, see Longmen Caves of China.

LEARN MORE

• As a member of the Shitennō, Bishamonten is known as Tamonten. See TAMONTEN page for more details & photos.  
• Handbook on Viewing Buddhist Statues. A wonderful book by Ishii Ayako. Some images at this site were scanned from this book; Japanese language only; 192 pages; 80+ color photos. Click here to buy book at Amazon
• Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs & Symbols. By Meher McArthur. ISBN 0-500-28428-8, Published 2002 by Thames & Hudson. Click here to view or buy book at Amazon. <McArthur is curator of East Asian Art at the Pacific Asia Museum (Pasadena)>
• Nara National Museum
• Tokyo National Museum
• Sanskrit images used with permission from this J-site.
• A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms. With Sanskrit & English Equivalents. Plus Sanskrit-Pali Index. By William Edward Soothill & Lewis Hodous. Hardcover, 530 pages. Published by Munshirm Manoharlal. Reprinted March 31, 2005. ISBN 8121511453.
• Digital Dictionary of Chinese Buddhism (C. Muller; login "guest")
• Buddhism: Flammarion Iconographic Guides, by Louis Frederic, Printed in France, ISBN 2-08013-558-9, First published 1995. A highly illustrated volume, with special significance to those studying Japanese Buddhist iconography. Includes many of the myths and legends of mainland Asia as well, but its special strength is in its coverage of the Japanese tradition. Hundreds of accompanying images/photos, both B&W and color. A useful addition to your research bookshelf.
• A History of Japanese Religion. Edited by Kazuo Kasahara. Kosei Publishing Company, 2001. Translated by Paul McCarthy and Gaynor Sekimori. 648 pages. Sixteen distinguished experts on Japanese religion approach the topic from modern perspectives. Topics range from prehistoric times up until the early postwar years. Click here to read review of book by scholar Paul L. Swanson.
• Jewel in the Ashes: Buddha Relics and Power in Early Medieval Japan. . By Brian D. Ruppert. Harvard University Asia Center (July 1, 2000). ISBN-10: 0674002458. Focused on relic worship in medieval Japan. Copious reference notes, this work is aimed at scholars. It includes a very useful glossary of terms. Highly recommended.
• JAANUS online database. See Bishamonten page or Tobatsu Bishamonten page. Says JAANUS about Bishamonten: A deity called Tamonten 多門天 as the member of the Shitennou 四天王 who is guardian of the north, but called Bishamonten as a focus of belief in his own right or as the guardian of the north amongst the Juuniten 十二天. He is the Indian deity called Kubira 倶尾羅, a god of wealth who presides over the northern direction and is chief of the Yasha 夜叉 and Rasetsu 羅刹. One of Kubiras epithets is Vaisravana. Images of him were made in Japan from the Heian period (794-1185). He wears armor and usually holds a hōtō 宝塔 in one hand and a sansageki 三叉げき or baton (hōbō 宝棒), in the other. Bishamonten and Tamonten are identical in iconography, but Bishamonten may be accompanied by Kichijōten 吉祥天, his wife, and by Zennishi Dōji 善膩師童子. As a protector of the north, Bishamonten's presence had a clear role in a temple such as Kuramadera 鞍馬寺, which was built to protect the northern areas of Kyoto. He was also a protector of the Buddhist teaching and of the nation. Tales of Bishamon's miraculous power appear in collections, and, as the main image of the temple, he is celebrated in the late Heian, Illustrated Handscroll of the Legends of Mt. Shigi (Shigisan Engi Emaki 信貴山縁起絵巻). From the Muromachi period (1392-1568) on, he was popularly known as a deity of good fortune, and once included among the Shichifukujin 七福神 (Seven Lucky Gods) in the Edo period (1600-1868), he was widely revered. Examples of sculptures of Bishamonten include the late Heian sculpture of Kuramadera; the 1078 sculpture in Hōryūji Kondō 法隆寺金堂; and the 1162 sculpture belonging to the Kawabata 川端 family that was originally made for a hall at Nakanogawaji 中川寺 and remarkable for dedicatory materials that include sheets of cloth printed with little pictures of Bishamon. There are also the 1178 sculpture of a helmeted Bishamon in Hagaji 羽賀寺 in Fukui prefecture and the set of Bishamon, Zennishi Douji, and Kichijōten carved by Tankei 堪慶 (1173-1256) around 1225. In addition, there is a late-Heian painting at Uesugi Jinja 上杉神社 in Yamagata prefecture. Bishamon, like the Shitennō, usually stands on one or two demons, called Jaki 邪鬼. Among images of Bishamonten, some show him supported by the female deity Jiten 地天 (Skt. = Prithvi). Although this iconography does appear in sculpture of Tamonten among the Shitennō as in the sculpture in the Kōdō 講堂 of Tōji Temple 東寺, an independent form of Bishamonten standing on Jiten is referred to as Tobatsu Bishamonten.

ū  ā ō Ō

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