Bodhisattva (bosatsu)
Daiseishi Bosatsu
大勢至菩薩
This bodhisattva is listed as the buddha of the twenty-third day among the Thirty-day Hidden Buddhas (sanjūnichi hibutsu), and is also counted among the Thirteen Buddhas (Jūsanbutsu) and the Twenty-five Bodhisattvas.
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 name and role of Daiseishi Bosatsu
This bodhisattva is listed as the buddha of the twenty-third day among the Thirty-day Hidden Buddhas, and is also counted among the Thirteen Buddhas and the Twenty-five Bodhisattvas. Like Kanzeon Bosatsu, Daiseishi is an attendant of Amida Nyorai, and is described as symbolizing the Buddha's wisdom that saves people from ignorance.
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 traditions
The attributes column records only hands joined in prayer (gasshō), and the figure is introduced as a form that holds no particular object. The seed syllable (shuji) is shown as "saku."
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
Protecting those who wish for rebirth in the Pure Land
The Twenty-five Bodhisattvas are bodhisattvas who protect people who wish to be reborn in the Pure Land of Amida Buddha. A dictionary of the Jōdo school explains the protection of practitioners taught in the Jūōjō Amidabutsukoku-kyō as the basis of this faith. Rather than assigning each of them a separate benefit such as money or study, they can be understood first through their saving work as a group.
Source: 浄土宗
Bodhisattvas in raigō paintings and nerikuyō processions
As Pure Land faith spread, the Twenty-five Bodhisattvas came to be depicted in raigō paintings, in which they come with Amida Nyorai to welcome the dying, and in nerikuyō processions. This is described as a development from the understanding that bodhisattvas who protect practitioners in daily life would also protect them at the moment of death. The attributes they hold, such as musical instruments and lotus pedestals, differ from source to source, and the individual forms shown here are based mainly on Shōhōin's materials introducing the Butsuzō Zui.
Source: 浄土宗・飛不動尊 正宝院
Related shrines and temples
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：大勢至菩薩」（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：二十五菩薩」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 浄土宗「新纂浄土宗大辞典：二十五菩薩」（2026-10-15 確認）