Kongōyasha Myōō

Kongōyasha Myōō

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kongōyasha Myōō is one of the Five Great Guardian Kings in Esoteric Buddhism. His ferocious aspect is a manifestation of the wrath of the Five Wisdom Buddhas against evil. Kongōyasha Myōō is presented with three faces, five eyes, and six arms, with each hand holding one of his attributes: a wheel, an arrow, a bow, a sword, a tri-pronged vajra, and a vajra bell. Introduced from China by Kobo Daishi (774-836), a founder of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, the Five Great Guardian Kings became an important ritual icon, called upon as protectors of the nation during the Ninnōkyō ceremony (Sutra of the Benevolent Kings), which was performed on special occasions

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.