Japan: Wooden mask of guardian deity Kongorikishi (Jingang Lishi in Chinese), Kyoto, 13th Century

Nio or Kongorikish are two wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asia in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues.

They are dharmapala (protectors of the Buddhist religion) manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapaṇi, the oldest and most powerful of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon.

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