| Also
written 二王. Also called *Niten
二天 and Niouson 仁王尊. Lit. two kings or benevolent kings. A pair of temple
guardians who stand on either side of a temple gate. Their fierce faces
with glaring eyes, powerfully muscular bodies, and threatening poses bearing
weapons, serve to ward off evil spirits. Typically the Niou are represented
as nude from the waist up, although very early images wear chest armor.
Generally one opens his mouth, in the "*agyou
阿形" position (the shape of mouth saying "a" あ ) and holds a thunderbolt
(Sk: vajra, Jp: *kongousho
金剛杵), while the other closes his mouth, in the "ungyou 吽形"
position (the shape of mouth saying "un") and holds a large sword
. They are sometimes called *Kongou
rikishi 金剛力士 and Misshaku rikishi 密迹力士, respectively, indicating
two different aspects of one deity named Misshaku kongou 密迹金剛. However,
there are various opinions as to the identities of the Niou, and none seems
to clearly prevail. Iconographically, Niou are associated with *Shukongoushin
執金剛神. Chinese examples include large rock-cut sculptures at Longmen (Jp:
Ryuumon 竜門) and Yungang (Jp: Unkou 雲岡). The earliest Japanese examples are
the dry-lacquer *kanshitsu
乾漆 sculptures wearing armor and placed on the Buddhist altar, Shumidan 須弥壇
at Sangatsudou 三月堂, Toudaiji 東大寺 (also known as Kongou rikishi, 8c)
, and the nude example at the Central Gate, Chuumon 中門 of Houryuuji 法隆寺
(711). The best known Niou are the huge images at the Great South
Gate Nandaimon 南大門, Toudaiji (1207) by Unkei 運慶 (?-1223) and Kaikei 快慶 (late
12c-early 13c). |
