Marishiten

Marishiten (摩利支天) is the goddess of the light that precedes the sun, of heat haze and mirage. Because light cannot be seized, wounded or held, she grants invisibility and protection, and Japan's warriors made her their patron. Samurai carried her image into battle and invoked her before combat.

Japanese 摩利支天, Marishiten
Sanskrit Marīcī
Rank Deva
Recognise by Three faces and six or eight arms, riding a boar or a team of boars; or a gentle two-armed lady with a fan
Patron of Warriors, martial artists and travellers

Identifying Marishiten

Her warrior form has three faces, one of them a sow's, and many arms holding a bow and arrow, a sword, a needle and thread, a fan and a vajra. She stands or sits on a boar, or in a chariot drawn by boars, charging forward. A gentler form shows her as a two-armed lady holding a fan. The boar is the clearest sign.

The warriors' goddess

From the Kamakura period, warriors invoked Marishiten for victory and protection. Small images were carried in helmets and amulet cases, and her name was inscribed on armour and swords. Schools of martial arts honoured her as a patron, a tradition that continues among some practitioners today.

Marishiten in Japan

Tokudaiji in Ueno, Tokyo, honours Marishiten above a busy market street, and Zenkyōan, a subtemple of Kenninji in Kyoto, is known for its many statues of boars. Edo painters and metalworkers favoured her as a subject for sword fittings and armour ornaments.

Collecting notes

  • Small Marishiten images were made to be carried, and many survive in portable shrines and amulet cases.
  • She overlaps with the world of sword fittings and armour, where her image is a sought-after motif.

In the collection

Search the collection for Marishiten or browse guardian deities. Our collector concierge can search Japan for a particular image.

See also

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