Kariteimo　訶梨帝母

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

The Japanese name of the Indian deity (Sk: Hariti), a protector of children who was the wife of Panchika. Her name was transliterated as Kariteimo or Karitei 訶利帝, and translated as Kishimojin 鬼子母神 or Kangimo 歓喜母, Aishimo 愛子母. She is said originally of have been an evil deity who ate children. After the Buddha hid one of her five-hundred children and made her understand the suffering of a parent who had lost a child, the reformed Kariteimo embraced Buddhism. She was worshipped in monasteries as a protector of the faith and by the general public as a protector of children. She was also, along with the ten female rasetsunyo 羂刹女, considered a protector of the Lotus Sutra HOKEKYOU 法華経 and may be painted along with them. Her iconography is based on the Dai Yakusha Nyo Kangimo narabini Aishi Joujuhou 大薬叉女歓喜母并愛子成就法. There are images of her from the late-Heian period. She is shown dressed in Song dynasty robes and holds a pomegranate in her right hand. She may cradle a child with her left arm and may appear with three, five, seven, or nine children. Examples of her appearance in art include a late-Heian painting in Daigoji 醍醐寺, Kyoto; a Kamakura period sculpture in Onjouji 園城寺 (Miidera三井寺), Shiga prefecture; and a late-Heian to Kamakura periods sculpture in Toudaiji 東大寺, Nara.

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