Japanese

五大明王 (Go Dai Myōō): the Five Wisdom Kings are the blue figures to the right in this image.

Proper noun

五大明王 ‎(hiragana ごだいみょうおう, romaji Go Dai Myōō)

1. the Five Wisdom Kings in Vajrayana Buddhism

Usage notes

When borrowed into English, this term is more often romanized as Godai Myōō.

Coordinate terms

The 五大明王 ‎(Go Dai Myōō, “Five Wisdom Kings”) and associated directions are:

• 大威德明王 (だいいとくみょうおう, ​Daiitoku Myōō): west
• 降三世明王 (ごうざんぜんみょうおう, ​Gōzanze Myōō): east
• 不動明王 (ふどうみょうおう, ​Fudō Myōō): center
• 不空成就如来 (金剛夜叉明王, ​Kongō Yasha Myōō): north
• 軍荼利明王 (ぐんだりみょうおう, ​Gundari Myōō): south

Synonyms

• 五大尊 (ごだいそん, ​Go Dai Son): the Five Great Reverences
• 五大尊明王 (ごだいそんみょうおう, ​Go Dai Son Myōō): the Five Great Reverent Wisdom Kings
• 五力明王 (ごりきみょうおう, ​Go Riki Myōō): the Five Powerful Wisdom Kings

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

• 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan