Guarding the entrance to Kiyomizu-dera are the Kongōrikishi or Niō, two frightening and muscular guardians of the Buddha. They are manifestations of the Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi protector deity and are part of the Mahayana pantheon. According to Japanese tradition, they travelled with the historical Buddha to protect him. Within the generally pacifist traditions of Buddhism, stories of Niō guardians like Kongōrikishi justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil. We just called him the guy with the bath towel. Once inside you may visit the Jizō shrine. One of the most beloved of all Japanese divinities, Jizō works to ease the suffering and shorten the sentence of those serving time in hell, to deliver the faithful into Amida’s western paradise (where souls are no longer trapped in the cycle of desire and rebirth), and to answer the prayers of the living for health, success, and children. Jizō is a Bodhisattva (Bosatsu in Japanese), one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood until all can be saved. He serves as patron saint of expectant mothers, women in labor, children, firemen, travelers, and pilgrims. If your thoughts turn more to things material you might offer a prayer to Daikoku. Daikoku is widely known in Japan as the happy-looking god of wealth, farmers, food, and good fortune. Originally he was a fierce Hindu warrior deity named Mahākāla, but was later adopted into the Buddhist pantheon and appeared by at least China’s Sui dynasty (581-618) in Buddhist texts. Since the 15th century, Japanese artwork of Daikoku has shown him as a cheerful and pudgy deity wearing a peasant’s hat and standing on bales of rice, carrying a large sack of treasure slung over his shoulder and holding a small magic mallet.