Yasha Jindō 夜叉神堂

Official explanation

The figures inside these two small structures originally stood guard at either side of the temple’s south gate. The statues were moved inside the temple grounds after a legend arose that people who passed by the gate without paying due respect to these deities became cursed with misfortunes. They were moved to their current location in 1596.

The statues are said to have been carved by Kūkai (774–835), the great Buddhist teacher and abbot of Tōji. They are popularly known as yasha, or guardian spirits. The yasha on the east side is male, and the one to the west is female. Thought to be incarnations of the deities Monju Bosatsu and Kokūzō Bosatsu, they are both known for their wisdom. Despite their reputation for throwing curses, in another tradition these yasha have the power to relieve toothaches.

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.