Tobatsu Bishamonten

Japanese: 兜跋毘沙門天 - とばつびしゃもんてん

This is a variant of Bishamonten, one of the four heavenly kings who protect Buddhism. He wears a crown with a peacock on his head, his eyes are wide open, he holds a pagoda in his left hand, a spear in his right hand, and wears Western-style armor. He stands motionless on the palms of the Earth Goddess, who has evil spirits on either side. This heavenly king is said to have appeared in Turfan in the Western Regions, and was later introduced to the Tang Dynasty. In Japan, the oldest statue (national treasure) was placed on top of the Rajomon Gate of Heian-kyo by Kukai and Saicho when they left the Tang Dynasty, and is now enshrined in the Bishamon Hall of Kyoogokoku-ji Temple. Later, statues made in Japan were modeled after this one, and include Seika-ji Temple in Saga, Kyoto, Zensui-ji Temple in Shiga, and Kanzeon-ji Temple in Fukuoka.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

仏法を守護する四天王の一つである毘沙門天の一異形。その姿は頭上にクジャクの標幟を示した冠をかぶり，目を大きく見開き，左手に宝塔，右手に鉾，西域風の甲冑を着け，両足は，左右に邪鬼を配した地天女の掌の上に直立不動の姿勢で立つ。この天王は，西域のトゥルファン (吐魯番) に化現したもので，のち唐に伝わったという。日本では，空海と最澄が唐から将来して平安京羅城門上に安置し，今日では教王護国寺の毘沙門堂に安置されている同像 (国宝) が古い。その後日本で制作されたものはこの像を手本とし，京都嵯峨の棲霞寺，滋賀の善水寺，福岡の観世音寺などのものがある。

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