BENRIDO COLLOTYPE Framed Buddhist Picture "Fudō Myōō (Acala)"

<Important Cultural Property Fudo Myo Statue> ◆ Kamakura period, 13th century Daigoji brewery

"Acala", "Achala", or "Acalanātha" is a wrathful deity and dharmapala (protector of the Dharma) prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. In Japan, it is called "Fudō Myō-ō" (不動明王), Ofudo-san or "Fudo-sama". 
Fudō Myō-ō is the central deity in all Myō-ō groupings, and in artwork is positioned in the center. Fudō converts anger into salvation; has furious, glaring face, as Fudō seeks to frighten people into accepting the teachings of Dainichi Buddha; and is often worshipped as a deity who can bring monetary fortune. His left eye is often closed,(or in recent years many artworks have "heaven-and-earth eyes (天地眼) - open right eye and narrowed left eye, or staring up toward heaven with the right eye and staring down toward earth with the left eye") and the teeth bite the upper lip; OR two fangs, one pointing upward and other pointing downward. 

Myō-ō is the Japanese term for Sanskrit "Vidyaraja," a group of warlike and wrathful deities known in English as the Mantra Kings, the Wisdom Kings, or the Knowledge Kings. Myō-ō statues appear ferocious and menacing, with threatening postures and faces designed to subdue evil and frighten unbelievers into accepting Buddhist law. They represent the luminescent wisdom of Buddhism, protect the Buddhist teachings, remove all obstacles to enlightenment, and force evil to surrender.