Iconographic Drawing of the Wisdom King Daiitoku (Daiitoku Myōō)
Daiitoku is a wrathful and protective Wisdom King (Myōō), whose Sanskrit name means “one who stops the power of the King of Hell.” He is shown with multiple heads, eyes, legs, and arms. In four hands he holds a trident, a wheel, a sword, and a jeweled club, while he joins his other two hands with both middle fingers extended, in the mudra of restraint (konpon-in). Painted images of Wisdom Kings like Daiitoku were used in rituals to protect society from harm. The red seal at the lower right of this drawing is an indication of the work’s early owner: the Buddhist monastery Kōzanji in Kyoto.
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