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

Many Buddhist instruments for rituals have been owned by Horyūji temple, such as the Vajra Bell with the motif of the five great wisdom kings (godai myō ō) from Tang and the nyō (a bell with an attached shaft) thought to have been made in the Nara period before orthodox Esoteric Buddhism came to Japan. Esoteric Buddhism in its full-blown form was established during the period between the middle Heian period and the Kamakura period, highlighted by major events such as Shingon school priest Kanen's appointment as the head of the government office (bettō) in the Engi era (901-923). Since that time until the Edo period, many instruments for esoteric rituals were produced and offered to the temple. This sankosho (pestle with three prongs at each end) and the konpei, the preceding entry (N-62), are the oldest ones among them. The spherical bulges around the grip (kimoku, lit. goblins' eyes) are large and stick out, while the side-prongs are deeply curved, with a large beak-shaped part. These are clear characteristics of the Heian-period style.