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明王

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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. (Buddhism) a Wisdom King in Vajrayana Buddhism
    Also called a Guardian King.
  2. (Buddhism) Short for 五大明王 (Go Dai Myōō, the Five Wisdom Kings).
  3. (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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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