Mt. Shosha Engyo-jiしょしゃざんえんぎょうじ

Ototen and Wakaten are a pair of *Goho-doji* (Dharma-protecting youths) who attended Shoku Shonin, the founder of Engyoji Temple on Mount Shosha. Ototen is said to be an incarnation of Fudo Myoo and Wakaten an incarnation of Bishamonten. In the forms of a blue ogre and a red ogre respectively, they protected the holy man on his left and right, fetching firewood and water and repelling enemies during his mountain asceticism. They embody the inherent duality of *Goho-doji*—fierce ogre-deities who nevertheless submit to a holy monk and protect the Buddhist teachings—within the context of Harima's mountain Buddhism. They are still enshrined today in the Ototen Shrine and Wakaten Shrine (built in 1559, Important Cultural Properties) next to the Okunoin of Engyoji Temple. Subjugating fierce power and turning it toward good—these child-formed ogre-deities commanded by highly virtuous ascetics reflect the religious imagination of medieval Japan.