DOJO-HOSHI
A child endowed by the thunder deity with supernormal strength. One day, the story tells, a man was working his fields when the thunder kami…
Month: January 2023
DARUMA
The Japanese rendition of the name Boddhidarma, a Buddhist sage who brought a form of Buddhism to South China and became the founding saint of…
DAKINITEN
A Buddhist deity who is often conflated with Inari. Dakiniten is the Japanese transformation of a type of female Indian demon called dakini, attendants of…
DAITOKU MYO-O (-BOSATSU)
One of the heavenly kings, he is the defier of death. He carries weapons of war,including a lightning-hilted sword and a spear. His face is…
DAINICHI NYORAI
Buddha represented as the sun. Dainichi is the Japanese translation of the Sanskrit Maha-Vairocana (Great Illumination), the central emanation of the universe. Dainichi is often…
DAIGENSHURI-BOSATSU
Zen protector of monasteries and Buddhist Law, and protector of seafarers. Tradition has it that he was one of the sons of Asoka, an Indian…
Daoism
Daoism (Taoism) Daoism is an ancient combination of religion, philosophy, and folk beliefs, including ritual healing. It began more than 2,000 years ago in China.…
Dagini Rite
A form of witchcraft in which a nobleman, warrior, or priest puts a spell on a fox or snake in order to obtain power over…
CHUSHINGURA
The Chushingura (Treasury of Loyal Retainers) tells the tale of the forty-seven retainers of the lord of Akπ who were loyal beyond death. In the…
CHUJO-HIME
“Guard-general princess” is the Japanese Cinderella, and a paragon of the virtue of filial devotion. Born, according to the story, on the eighteenth day of…