Deva (ten) or guardian deity
Jinmoten
神母天
This is a name listed as one of the Twenty-eight Attendants (Nijūhachi Bushū). The Twenty-eight Attendants are a group who protect Senju Kannon and the people who have faith in that teaching.
This introduction is based on materials published by shrines, temples, and schools, starting with Shōhōin. 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 Jinmoten
This is a name listed as one of the Twenty-eight Attendants. The text briefly explains that Jinmoten is the same being as Kariteimo, that is, Kishimojin.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院
A guardian group supporting Senju Kannon's salvation
The Twenty-eight Attendants are figures who protect Senju Kannon and the people who have faith in that teaching. The Four Heavenly Kings, deities originating in India, and others form a group as protectors of Buddhism. At Sanjūsangendō, they are explained as the attendants and companions of Senju Kannon.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・蓮華王院 三十三間堂
Names and forms differ by sutra
The membership of the Twenty-eight Attendants and the forms of their images differ according to the sutra accounts. Because figures of the same name also appear in other groups of guardian deities, this page introduces separately their "role as members of the Twenty-eight Attendants" and the characters handed down for them individually. The statues of Sanjūsangendō and Shōhōin's iconographic materials are not treated as having the same arrangement or forms.
Source: 蓮華王院 三十三間堂・飛不動尊 正宝院
Protecting those who have faith in Kannon from calamity
Kiyomizudera explains the role of the Twenty-eight Attendants as protecting from calamity those who keep Senju Kannon in mind and call on that name. Figures connected with various worlds, such as the sea and the land, together support Kannon's salvation as one group. This is a faith common to the Twenty-eight Attendants, and does not assign the fulfillment of a separate wish to each figure.
Source: 音羽山 清水寺
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：神母天」（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：二十八部衆」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 蓮華王院 三十三間堂「二十八部衆像」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 音羽山 清水寺「眷属 二十八部衆」（2026-10-17 確認）