Japanese 19th Century Esoteric Buddhist Ritual Implements - Vajra Pestles (Type A, B, C, D) - Set of Four

Acquired from an overseas collector. The collector indicated they were from the Edo period (1603-1867 AD, early 17th-19th century). This corresponds to the late Ming to mid-Qing dynasties in China. Vajra pestles from the Edo period are generally 150-420 years old. However, after handling artifacts for many years, I prefer to conservatively estimate their age slightly lower, placing them in the early 19th to early 20th century. A designation as religious artifacts with a century of history is more appropriate. This batch returned to Taiwan includes Type A, B, C, and D. Crafted from brass alloy. Hand-carved and finished. These are genuine Vajrayana ritual implements with a tangible history of use. Prices vary according to age. Type A: Length 12.8 cm, Weight 96.4 g Type B: Length 12.7 cm, Weight 94.2 g Type C: Length 13.2 cm, Weight 92.3 g Type D: Length 13.2 cm, Weight 87.9 g **************************** Vajra pestles currently cast on the market are typically priced between 3200-4000 for new, refined pieces. Mass-produced items from mainland China are even cheaper, costing as little as 600 NTD. Some new vajra pestles are cast from molds made from antique implements over a century old. The external appearance is often very similar. Without experience collecting Tibetan artifacts, new collectors may find it difficult to distinguish between old and new. Currently, most collectors in Taiwan focus on Tibetan artifacts. Very few collectors acquire Japanese Esoteric Buddhist implements, and the supply of antique Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual items is even rarer... This makes it challenging to promote Japanese Esoteric Buddhist antique ritual implements in Taiwan... ********************************** Regarding the energetic resonance of ritual implements, I personally do not possess such sensitivities. Whether it's ancient Tibetan Phurba or Vajra pestles... or even Japanese Esoteric Buddhist single-pronged, triple-pronged, or five-pronged vajra pestles... I feel nothing. However, when I acquired a batch of Tibetan pestles this year, I also included some Japanese ones. One evening, while handling a single-pronged vajra pestle, I placed it under my pillow before sleeping. Unexpectedly, I dreamt of a fire offering ceremony and smelled the scent of burning pine resin. As I often burn broken amber and beeswax prayer beads for friends in recent years to help them learn the scent of genuine amber and beeswax when burned... In the dream, I specifically focused on the scent... three times... This confirmed the scent was indeed like pine resin or beeswax. Upon waking in the morning... after more than 30 years of handling countless ritual implements... with a dull lack of sensation... to be able to receive a dream premonition from this single-pronged vajra pestle.... A fellow Taoist practitioner from the south, who is also an artifact dealer, once said: "The meditative power of Japanese practitioners surpasses that of Tibetans; do not underestimate Japanese ritual implements..." On December 7, 2024, a senior practitioner who has been engaged in spiritual cultivation and meditation visited. He sensed the energy of several ritual implements I possess, both Tibetan (11th-18th century) and Japanese antique pestles... Upon holding them, he could not stop yawning, saying repeatedly how powerful the energy was... He then looked at me with disbelief. Asking if I felt nothing when handling these artifacts. After sensing them, he took photos to show his master. After I explained the age and acquisition cost of each artifact, he shyly requested to purchase three Japanese Esoteric Buddhist ritual implements (single-pronged, triple-pronged, and five-pronged vajra pestles) from me the next morning. He explained that the energy fields of Japanese and Tibetan ritual implements felt almost equally powerful... but the price difference was immense... Similar to the price disparity between Tibetan Dzi beads and West Asian beads... He thought he could afford the Japanese ritual implements... On December 19, 2024, he made a special trip to the north to see me and reported that the night he brought the Japanese ritual implements home, he placed two of them beside his nightstand. In his dreams, he saw two divine dragons, one large and one small, appearing within the pestles. He has practiced sensing energies for many years, and this experience brought him great surprise... ********************************** On December 18, 2024, I made an offering to Lama Ugyen Khenpo at the monastery. I inquired if there were any Dharma practices involving triple-pronged vajra pestles in Tibetan Buddhism. The Lama replied that only householder yogis engage in contemplation. It is solely a practice of visualization, imagining a triple-pronged vajra pestle in the mouth. In practice, the ritual implement itself is not used. 6500-8800-114.05.01