Tag Archives: kongorikishi

Aiki, Iki, Kokyu, Heng-Ha and Aun, Part 2

Heng Ha Er Jiang (哼哈二将, the two Generals Heng and Ha), from Fengdu China
Above are two more Kongo-rikishi ("Guardian King") statues of the type that we talked about in Part 1 of "Aiki, Iki, Kokyu, Heng-Ha and Aun".This time the statues are from the ghost town of Fengdu China – which is an entire city modelled on the Chinese Hell of Taoist mythology, built more than 1800 years ago. The City of Ghosts was a place of worship before the flooding of the Three Gorges due to the Three Gorges Dam Project.  Today it mostly lies underwater – except for the sections that have been reconstructed (with some of the original structures used) for the tourist industry.In the picture above the General Heng stands on the right – 哼, for inhaling. Note that his mouth is closed and his abdomen is contracted (this is the Naraen Kongo in Japan, with his mouth closed in the "un" syllable of "Aun").The General Ha stands on the left – 哈, for exhaling. Note that his mouth is opened and his abdomen is expanded (this is the Misshaku Kongo in Japan, with his mouth open in the "A" syllable of "Aun").