第六天魔王

Japanese

Kanji in this term
だい
Grade: 3
ろく
Grade: 1
てん
Grade: 1

Grade: S
おう
Grade: 1
kan'on

Etymology

The "Sixth Heaven" refers to Paranirmitavaśavartin, the uppermost of six heavens in the Desire Realm according to Buddhism, known in Japanese as 他化自在天 (Takejizai-ten). This heaven is ruled by the demon Mara, who deceives souls.

Sense 2 refers to Nobunaga's attack against the Enryaku-ji monastery in 1571, causing his enemies to compare him to the demon in Buddhism. Nobunaga later used this epithet for himself to intimidate his enemies. It was later attested in a letter to Shingen Takeda as his signature, and the Portuguese missionary Luís Fróis who mentioned that Nobunaga used it as a title for himself.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [da̠iɾo̞kɯ̟tẽ̞mːa̠o̞ː]

Proper noun

(だい)(ろく)(てん)()(おう) • (Dairokutenmaō

  1. (Buddhism) "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven"; Mara, a demon that rules the sixth and uppermost heaven in the Desire Realm, and tempts souls away from seeking enlightenment.
    Synonyms: 第六天魔王波旬 (Dairokutenmaō Hajun), 魔羅 (Mara), 天魔 (Tenma), 波旬 (Hajun)
  2. (historical, derogatory) Nobunaga Oda, a Japanese warlord.