明王

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Chinese

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clear; bright; to understand
clear; bright; to understand; next; the Ming dynasty
 
king; Wang (proper name)
simp. and trad.
(明王)
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Etymology

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From a calque of Sanskrit विद्याराज (vidyārāja, knowledge king).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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明王

  1. (literary, honorific) enlightened sage (referring to the monarch)
  2. (Buddhism) a Wisdom King in Vajrayana Buddhism

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (明王):
  • Japanese: 明王(みょうおう) (myōō)
  • Korean: 명왕(明王) (myeong'wang)

Further reading

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Japanese

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Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
明王 (myōō): a statue of a Wisdom King, specifically Fudō Myōō.
Kanji in this term
みょう
Grade: 2
おう
Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

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Buddhist term, imported into Japanese when Buddhism was introduced to Japan, some time during the Kofun, Asuka, and Nara periods.

From Middle Chinese 明王 (*miæng *hiuɑng, literally wisdom king), itself a calque from Sanskrit विद्याराज (vidyārāja, knowledge king).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(みょう)(おう) (myōō

  1. (religion, Buddhism) a Wisdom King in Vajrayana Buddhism
    Also called a Guardian King.
  2. (religion, Buddhism) short for 五大明王 (​Go Dai Myōō), the Five Wisdom Kings
  3. (religion, Buddhism) by extension, more specifically refers to 不動明王 (​Fudō Myōō), the central figure of the Five Wisdom Kings
  4. (rare) a wise gentleman

Derived terms

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  • 五大明王 (ごだいみょうおう, ​Go Dai Myōō): the Five Wisdom Kings

References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN