Deva (ten) or guardian deity
Kokushi
黒歯
Kokushi is one of the Ten Rasetsunyo who appear in Chapter 26, the Dharani chapter, of the Myōhō Renge Kyō (the Lotus Sutra), and is named fifth in the sutra text. Together with Kishimo, her children and her followers, the Ten Rasetsunyo vow to protect those who recite and uphold the Lotus Sutra, and they recite dharani before the Buddha.
The vow of the Ten Rasetsu-nyo in the sutra and the later explanations of each figure's form and original Buddhist form (honjibutsu) are introduced with their sources kept separate.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
The name and role of Kokushi
Kokushi is listed as one of the Ten Rasetsu. Kokushi is explained as originally a demon deity with black fangs, and the original buddha (honji butsu) is said to be Dainichi Nyorai or Fudō Myōō.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Tracing the form and the traditions
Kokushi is introduced in a form holding a banner as the object held. The explanation on the original page is short and records only the black fangs from which the name comes, the object held and the original buddha.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
The Ten Rasetsunyo in Chapter 26, the Dharani chapter
Kokushi is one of the Ten Rasetsunyo who appear in Chapter 26, the Dharani chapter, of the Myōhō Renge Kyō (the Lotus Sutra), and is named fifth in the sutra text. Together with Kishimo, her children and her followers, the Ten Rasetsunyo vow to protect those who recite and uphold the Lotus Sutra, and they recite dharani before the Buddha.
Source: 日蓮宗 長崎教化センター
From demon deities to benevolent deities: a story of a vow
Shōhōin relates that the rasetsunyo, having heard the Lotus Sutra preached, vowed to Shakyamuni to protect people of faith. This vow is a tradition shared by all ten. Differences in their individual names and objects held are not turned into meanings that each will surely grant a different wish; they are introduced in the context of protecting the Lotus Sutra.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
A vow to protect those who uphold the Lotus Sutra
In the Dharani chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Ten Rasetsunyo, together with Kishimojin and others, vow to protect those who uphold the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. The Nichiren Shū explains protection from the various hindrances that obstruct people of faith as the heart of this chapter. This page reads it as a vow shared by all ten and does not add separate effects for each deity.
Source: 日蓮宗
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：黒歯」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：目次」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：十羅刹」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 日蓮宗 長崎教化センター「法華経ウェブ版：妙法蓮華経 陀羅尼品第二十六（真読）」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 日蓮宗「陀羅尼品｜ざっくり納得 法華経のすべて」（2026-10-17 確認）