Bodhisattva (bosatsu)
Kongōō
金剛王
Expresses the work of inviting people to the Buddha's teaching and guiding them to salvation. One of the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas of the Diamond Realm.
This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.
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 work this bodhisattva expresses
Expresses the work of inviting people to the Buddha's teaching and guiding them to salvation.
Source: エンサイクロメディア空海
The name and role of Kongōō
One of the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas, also called Jishō Kongō Bosatsu. It is listed as a bodhisattva positioned in the east of the four directions of the Diamond Realm and belonging to Ashuku Nyorai.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Kongōō in the mandala, and the four-armed image
For Kongōō, two kinds of images are handed down: one as one of the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas of the Diamond Realm, and one with four arms holding a bow, an arrow, a vajra and a vajra bell. In the guide of 鹿鳴文庫 as well, the Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas in volume 2, folio 7 recto, and Kongōō in folio 19 recto of the same volume are shown separately. The original artwork of this site refers to the four-armed type and is not a strict reconstruction of the form in the mandala.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・鹿鳴文庫・鹿鳴文庫
Bodhisattvas attending the four buddhas of the Diamond Realm
The Sixteen Great Bodhisattvas are bodhisattvas assigned four each to the four buddhas of the Diamond Realm: Ashuku, Hōshō, Amida (Muryōju) and Fukūjōju. In the mandala centered on Dainichi Nyorai and the four buddhas, they express the wisdom and workings of the buddhas through their individual names and forms. They are deities to be understood through their relation to the mandala as a whole, rather than as single deities each in charge of a particular area.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・関西大学
Reading the objects held and the position in the mandala
Objects held, such as a vajra, a jewel, a bow, a flower and a sutra scroll, are clues that show each deity's work. The individual pages introduce the meanings given in Shōhōin's iconographic notes. These sixteen deities belonging to the Diamond Realm Mandala and groups such as the Twenty-Five Bodhisattvas, who represent the welcome into the Pure Land, belong to different bodies of teaching.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Mantra (in Japanese, as written in the sources)
オン バザラ アランジャ ジャク
Source: 一般社団法人 高野町観光協会
バザラ アランジャ
Source: 真言宗豊山派 総合研究院
Shown as written in the Japanese sources. This site does not set how or how many times to recite it.
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：金剛王」（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：十六大菩薩」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 関西大学「地域計画特論（11）曼荼羅の世界観」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：二十五菩薩」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 鹿鳴文庫「仏像図彙：十六大菩薩」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 鹿鳴文庫「仏像図彙：金剛王」（2026-10-15 確認）
- エンサイクロメディア空海「MANDALA DUALISM｜成身会・諸仏解説」（2026-10-16 確認）
- 一般社団法人 高野町観光協会「願いと祈り、信仰する高野山」（2026-10-16 確認）
- 真言宗豊山派 総合研究院「髙橋尚夫「『金剛頂経』和訳（三）」『豊山学報』第62号」（2026-10-16 確認）