Japanese Esoteric Buddhist Ritual Implement, 19th-20th Century - Vajra (Length 15.1 cm)

Acquired from an overseas collector. The collector indicated it is from the Edo period (1603-1867 AD, early 17th-19th century). This corresponds roughly to the late Ming to mid-Qing dynasties in China. Vajras from the Edo period are generally 150-420 years old. However, after handling artifacts for many years, I tend to conservatively estimate the age slightly lower, placing it in the early 19th-20th century. A religious artifact with a century of history is a more appropriate designation. Made of brass alloy. Hand-carved and finished. A special Vajrayana ritual implement with a tangible history of use. Length: 15.1 cm. This is a large-sized Vajra. In Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements, the mid-section of the Vajra commonly features four engraved rings. These four rings represent the four eyes of Mahavairocana, subduing all obstacles and demons... **************************** Currently, newly cast Vajra ritual implements available on the market range in price from approximately 3200-4000 (presumably in local currency). Mass-produced items from mainland China are even less expensive, costing as little as 600 (converted to local currency). Some new Vajra ritual implements are cast from molds made from older implements over a century old. The visual differences are not significant. For collectors without extensive experience in acquiring old Tibetan ritual implements, it is difficult to discern the differences between new and old. Currently, most collectors in Taiwan focus on acquiring old Tibetan ritual implements. Very few collectors acquire Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements, and the supply of old Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements on the market is even scarcer... Consequently, old Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements are difficult to promote in Taiwan... ********************************** Regarding the energetic resonance of ritual implements, I do not possess such sensitivity. Whether it be ancient Tibetan Phurba or Vajra implements... or even Japanese Esoteric Buddhist single-pronged, three-pronged, or five-pronged Vajras... I feel nothing. However, when I acquired a large number of Tibetan Vajras this year, I also obtained a few Japanese ones. One evening, while handling a single-pronged Vajra, I placed it under my pillow before sleeping. Unexpectedly, I dreamt of a fire puja ceremony, smelling the scent of burning pine resin. As I have often burned fragments of amber and beeswax beads for friends in recent years to help them learn the scent of genuine amber and beeswax when burned... In my dream, I specifically focused on this smell... three times in a row... Thus, I confirmed in my dream that it was indeed the scent of burning resins like pine and beeswax... Upon waking in the morning, after over 30 years of touching countless ritual implements... always feeling dull and unresponsive... I was able to experience a dreamlike resonance from this single-pronged Vajra... A fellow practitioner in the antique trade from the south once remarked: "The mental power of Japanese practitioners surpasses that of Tibetans. Do not underestimate Japanese ritual implements..." On December 7, 2024, a Daoist practitioner who has engaged in long-term spiritual cultivation and meditation visited. He perceived the energy of several ritual implements I possess... both old Tibetan (11th-18th century) and Japanese Vajras.... Upon holding them, he could not stop yawning, unable to cease. He exclaimed that the energy was incredibly powerful... He then looked at me with disbelief, asking if I felt nothing when touching these implements. After his energetic reading, he took photos to show his master. After I explained the age and acquisition price of each ritual implement to him, the next morning he politely requested to acquire three Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements (single-pronged, three-pronged, and five-pronged Vajras) from me. He explained that the energy fields perceived from Japanese and Tibetan ritual implements were almost equally powerful, but the price difference was enormous... Similar to the price disparity between Tibetan Dzi beads and West Asian beads... He likely calculated that Japanese ritual implements would be more affordable... He specifically traveled north to find me on December 19, 2024, and reported that the night he brought these Japanese ritual implements home, he placed two beside his nightstand. That night, he dreamt of two divine dragons, one large and one small, appearing within the Vajras. Having cultivated his sensitivity for many years, this experience brought him immense surprise... ********************************** On December 18, 2024, I made an offering to the master Ugyen Khenpo at the dharma center. I inquired if there were any practices in Tibetan Buddhism that utilize three-pronged Vajras. The master replied that only householder yogis engage in contemplation, purely through visualization. They visualize a three-pronged Vajra in their mouth... In practice, the physical ritual implement is not used. 11000-114.07.01