National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Tobatsu Bishamonten differs from the usual form of the deva Bishamonten (Skt. Vaiśravaṇa). It is said to have originated in a kingdom in western China referred to as Tobatsu (Ch. Douba), though the precise location this is meant to refer to is unknown . Statues of Tobatsu Bishamonten were enshrined at castle gates to stand guard. This particular statue has several distinct features. A phoenix is carved in low relief on the front of the deva’s jeweled crown, with figures holding sacred staffs to the left and right. The deva is wearing a special type of gold chain mail as an outer garment, and its gauntlets and greaves are made of overlapping metal segments, called “prawn form” in Japanese for its resemblance to a prawn’s segmented shell. The deva is standing on the earth goddess Jiten (Skt. Pṛthvī).

A statue of Tobatsu Bishamonten was reportedly brought to Japan in the early Heian period (794–1185) from China’s Tang dynasty (618–907) and enshrined at the Rajōmon Gate, the southern gate of Heian-kyō (now Kyoto), before being moved to Tōji Temple. In the late Heian period, copies began to be made of Tōji’s statue. Many of these incorporated individual interpretations that differed from the original, such as those passed down at Seiryōji Temple and Kuramadera Temple in Kyoto, but this example is a notably faithful reproduction. Nevertheless, Tōji’s statue has a dynamic pose suggesting subtle movement in the hips and legs, while this one stands in a static pose. The statue also lacks the black stones inlaid in the eyes of the Tōji statue, giving it a more subdued appearance. It was created using joined block construction from Japanese cypress and painted in colored pigments.