What is this?

仁王Niō (temple guardian kings)

Two fierce, muscular guardians standing in a temple gate. They protect the temple and Buddhism itself. One has its mouth open ('a'), the other closed ('un').

How to recognise it

• Two large human figures with bulging muscles
• Inside a roofed gate (Niōmon)
• Open mouth on one, closed on the other

Look-alikes

• Komainu (guardian lion-dogs) — Komainu are animals at shrines; Niō are human-like figures at temples.

Good to know

• Usually the open-mouthed Agyō stands on the right and the closed-mouthed Ungyō on the left (as you face the gate).
• The Niō in Tōdai-ji's Great South Gate in Nara are over eight meters tall.

Where to see it

Sources

• Japan Tourism Agency multilingual DB: Nio Guardian Figures
• Japan Tourism Agency multilingual DB: The Nio Gate (Kōtoku-in)
• Japan Tourism Agency multilingual DB: Nio-mon, An Ancient Gate