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 |
![](Images/wiktionary/Todaiji13s4592.jpg.webp)
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
毘沙門天 • (Bishamonten)
- (Buddhism): the Japanese name for the Hindu god Vaiśravaṇa: a punisher of evildoers, and one of the seven gods of luck
Synonyms
- 多聞天 (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
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN