Photo source: Kanzeon-ji temple

Tobatsu Bishamon-ten Kanzeon-ji, Dazaifu

Haloed by flames and supported by Jiten, Bishamonten displays a stupa, his usual attribute, in his left hand. His right hand holds a short club, instead of the more usual trident. Jiten is an earth goddess from Khotan, a mountainous, jade-producing region in Hindustan. She became associated with Bishamonten through nurturing his child, who appears beside her at the base of this statue.

By way of comparison, the child does not appear with the Tobatsu Bishamonten at To-ji; in that statue, Jiten is flanked instead by the subjugated demons Ranba and Biranba.

The statue is about 5 1/2 feet high and formed from a single block of camphor-wood. It dates to the 10th century. Bishamonten's mild facial expression and static (but graceful) pose are unusual for this type of statue; perhaps they reflect Bishamonten's family nature, rather than his fiercer demon-quelling side.