"Ashura"

I saw the Ashura statue (national treasure), one of the 28 deities, at Sanjusangendo in Kyoto. The standing image with 3 faces and 6 arms was as powerful as that of the Kofukuji's Ashura statue (national treasure) in Nara. It was explained that Ashura is "Asura" in Sanskrit and it's origin was believed to be the "Ahura Mazdah", the highest deity of the Zoroastrianism in Persia.

In 1910, the lamp manufacturers of the world held an international meeting and decided to call the incandescent lamp "Mazda lamp" after the Ahura Mazda, the god of light. This name was also used in Japan from 1913 to 1963. I had always been attracted by the Ashura's fierce and beautiful image, and I learned that Ashura is closely connected to people who design light.