Four Heavenly Kings 観世音寺四天王

Official explanation

Four Heavenly Kings (Skt: Chaturmahārāja)

The Four Heavenly Kings (Shitenno) watch over the four cardinal directions. Tamonten (Skt: Vaiśravaṇa) guards the north, Zochoten (Skt: Virūḍhaka) protects the south, Jikokuten (Skt: Dhṛtarāṣṭra) is king of the east, and Komokuten (Skt: Virūpākṣa) defends the west. Collectively, they ward off evil, protect the country, and guard the world against malicious spirits.

Read the full explanation

Typically, the Shitenno are depicted with fearsome faces, are clad in armor, and holding sacred objects to suppress their enemies. The kings stand upon the backs of four amanojaku, demon-like creatures that they trample and subjugate. Each statue is about 203 centimeters high. They were carved from camphor wood and date to the eleventh century. They are particularly large images of their type from that time.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.