Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Deva (ten) or guardian deity

Datsu Issai Shujō Seiki

奪一切衆生精気だついっさいしゅじょうせいき

An illustration of Datsu Issai Shujō Seiki created for this site
An original illustration made for this site.

Datsu Issai Shujō Seiki is one of the ten rasetsu women (Jū Rasetsunyo) who appear in chapter 26, the Darani chapter, of the Lotus Sutra (Myōhō Renge Kyō); in the sutra text this name is listed tenth. Together with Kishimo, her children and her followers, the ten rasetsu women vow to protect those who recite and uphold the Lotus Sutra, and they speak darani 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 Datsu Issai Shujō Seiki

It is listed as one of the Ten Rasetsu. It is said to have originally been a demon spirit that steals vital energy, and the buddha regarded as its original form (honjibutsu) is described as Ugajin or Jizai Bosatsu.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

The ten rasetsu women who appear in chapter 26, the Darani chapter

Datsu Issai Shujō Seiki is one of the ten rasetsu women (Jū Rasetsunyo) who appear in chapter 26, the Darani chapter, of the Lotus Sutra (Myōhō Renge Kyō); in the sutra text this name is listed tenth. Together with Kishimo, her children and her followers, the ten rasetsu women vow to protect those who recite and uphold the Lotus Sutra, and they speak darani before the Buddha.

Source: 日蓮宗 長崎教化センター

A story of vows: from demon spirits to benevolent deities

Shōhōin relates that the rasetsu women, having heard the Lotus Sutra preached, vow to Shakyamuni to protect people of faith. This vow is a tradition shared by all ten. They are presented in the context of protecting the Lotus Sutra, without turning differences in their individual names or attributes into a meaning that each will surely grant a different wish.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

The vow to protect those who uphold the Lotus Sutra

In the Darani chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the ten rasetsu women, together with Kishimojin and others, vow to protect those who uphold the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren Shū explains protection from the various hindrances that obstruct people of faith as the heart of this chapter. It is read here as a vow shared by all ten, and no separate benefit is added to any individual deity.

Source: 日蓮宗

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)