Japanese Shingon Esoteric Buddhist Ritual Implement from the 19th-20th Century - Five-Pronged Wrathful Vajra (14.9 cm length)

Acquired from an overseas collector. Period: Dated to the 19th-20th Century. A religious artifact over a century old. Features five prongs that spread open. An early form of the wrathful vajra. Total length 14.9 cm, weight 212 grams. Made of brass alloy. Hand-carved and finished. A ritual implement with significant age and evidence of practice. This Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implement features four rings on its middle section. These four rings symbolize the four eyes of Vairocana Buddha, subduing all demonic obstacles. This vajra has a Nepalese style, likely originating from Nepal in its early period and later brought to Japan. It was subsequently acquired by an antique dealer from mainland China, and has now made its way to Taiwan. ********************************** Regarding the energetic resonance of ritual implements, I do not possess a sensitive constitution. Whether it be ancient Tibetan Phurba daggers, vajra scepters, or even the single-prong, three-prong, and five-prong vajras of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, I have never felt any particular sensation. However, while acquiring a large number of Tibetan vajras this year, I also obtained a few Japanese ones. One evening, while handling a single-prong vajra, I placed it under my pillow before sleeping. Unexpectedly, I dreamt of a fire ritual, smelling the scent of burning pine resin. As I have often burned broken amber and beeswax prayer beads for friends in recent years, allowing them to experience the aroma of genuine amber and beeswax when burned, I paid particular attention to the scent in my dream, experiencing it three times. Thus, in my dream, I confirmed it was the smell of burning resins like pine and amber. Upon waking, after over 30 years of touching countless ritual implements without any discernible sensation, I received a dream-like resonance from this single-prong vajra. A fellow Daoist practitioner from the south, who has a long-term spiritual cultivation and meditation practice, once remarked: "The mental power of Japanese practitioners surpasses that of Tibetans; do not underestimate Japanese ritual implements..." On December 7, 2024, a long-term spiritual cultivation and meditation practitioner, a Daoist brother, visited. He sensed the powerful energy of several ritual implements I possessed, both Tibetan (11th-18th Century) and Japanese old vajras. Upon holding them, he could not stop yawning, stating the magnetic field was incredibly strong and looking at me with disbelief. He asked if I felt nothing when touching these implements. After sensing them, he took photos to show his master. Upon hearing me explain the age and acquisition prices of each ritual implement, he sheepishly requested to acquire three Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements (single-prong, three-prong, and five-prong vajras) from me the next morning. He noted that the energetic resonance of Japanese ritual implements was almost as powerful as Tibetan ones, yet the price difference was immense, comparable to the price disparity between Tibetan Dzi beads and West Asian beads. He believed the price of Japanese ritual implements was likely within his means. On December 19, 2024, he made a special trip to the north to see me and reported that the evening he brought the Japanese ritual implements home, he placed two by his bedside. That night, he dreamt of two dragons, one large and one small, appearing within the vajras. Having practiced sensory perception for many years, he was truly surprised and delighted by this experience. ********************************** On December 18, 2024, I made an offering to the esteemed Lama Ugyen Thrinlay Dorje at the Dharma center. I inquired if there were any practices in Tibetan Buddhism involving the three-prong vajra. The Lama stated that it is practiced by householder yogis, solely through visualization – imagining the three-prong vajra within the mouth. In practice, the ritual implement itself is not used. 9000-114.05.01