As though a sudden apparition, a female deity in fluttering raiment splashes up a frame of foam on a billowing sea. Riding a white fox on a cloud held aloft by a pair of dragons, she clenches a vajra (thunderbolt) surmounted by a sword, a symbol of Buddhist power. In her palm she cradles a triad of sacred jewels, and others are scattered around her as abundant blessings. In her crown are auspicious protectors of the harvest: diminutive foxes on coiled white snakes, like those that encircle her wrists. Above, another triad of sacred jewels rests on an open lotus, flanked by Chinese symbols of the complementary forces of sun and moon.

This transformation of the wrathful Hindu deva Dakini emerged within Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. Originally a man-eating demoness, she was converted by the Vairocana Buddha into a powerful life-engendering deity. In the complex interaction of Buddhism, Shinto, and Taoist yin-yang practices in medieval Japan, this icon embodied near-magical powers of fecundity that were invoked not only in enthronement rituals but also in personal contexts. The mantra identified with this deity was chanted to achieve control over the mind. Medieval tales recount invocations of Dakiniten by both men and women to win position and favor at court, as well as in matters of the heart.