Deva (ten) or guardian deity
Kōtai
皐諦
Kōtai 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 ninth 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 Kōtai
Kōtai is listed as one of the Ten Rasetsu. Kōtai is explained as originally a demon deity who freely came and went between the heavenly realm and the human realm, and is introduced as having an original buddha (honji butsu).
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
What Kōtai holds is said to be burning incense.
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
Kōtai 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 ninth 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：皐諦」（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）