毘沙門天

毘沙門天

Japanese

Kanji in this term
毘	沙	門	天
び Jinmeiyō	しゃ Grade: S	もん Grade: 2	てん Grade: 1
on’yomi

毘沙門天

Etymology

Ultimately from Sanskrit वैश्रवण (vaiśravaṇa).[1][2][3][4]

Appears to be 毘沙門 (Bishamon, “Vaiśravaṇa”) +‎ 天 (-ten, “deva”).[1][4]

Alternatively, may have been borrowed from Chinese with the suffix already included.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) びしゃも​んてん [bìshámóꜜǹtèǹ] (Nakadaka – [3])[5][4]
• IPA^(key): [bʲiɕa̠mõ̞ntẽ̞ɴ]

Proper noun

毘(び)沙(しゃ)門(もん)天(てん) • (Bishamonten) 

1. (Buddhism): the Japanese name for the Hindu god Vaiśravaṇa: a punisher of evildoers, and one of the seven gods of luck

Synonyms

• 多(た)聞(もん)天(てん) (Tamonten)

Coordinate terms

• 七福神 (Shichi Fukujin): The Seven Gods of Good Fortune.
• 福禄寿 (Fukurokuju): god of happiness, wealth and longevity.
• 大黒 / 大黒天 (Daikoku / Daikokuten): the god of wealth, commerce and trade. Ebisu and Daikoku are often paired and represented as carvings or masks on the walls of small retail shops.
• 寿老人 (Jurōjin): the god of longevity.
• 恵比須 / 恵比寿 / 夷 / 戎 (Ebisu): god of fishers or merchants, often depicted carrying a sea bream.
• 布袋 (Hotei): the fat and happy god of abundance and good health.
• 弁才天 / 弁財天 (Benzaiten): The Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. The goddess of knowledge, art, beauty, music, language, wisdom, poetry and rivers.
• 吉祥天 (Kisshōten): the goddess of happiness, charm and beauty, of fertility, nature, and of human creativity, and the patronesses of joy, amusement and festivities.

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
5. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN