The Buddhist deity Achala Vidyaraja (Fudo Myoo)

Fudo Myoo, "the immovable one," is one of the powerful Five Bright Kings of Shingon, a Japanese school of Esoteric Buddhism. This popular god is believed to protect the religion and its followers, and as a result many sculptures and paintings of him were made for temples throughout Japan. Images of Fudo are easily recognizable: his long, straight hair is pulled to the left of his head and arranged in a braid that hangs down his chest. He holds a sword and a rope, symbols of his power, in his left and right hands respectively. His threatening visage is an expression of his ability to ward off evil forces. Here Fudo is seated on a tiered platform of piled angular rocks, surrounded by a swirling flame.

Open only to the initiated, the Esoteric Buddhist ritual that took place before the painted image involved the burning of goma, a holy fire of cedar sticks. As a result, the upper part of the painting is blackened with oily smoke, partially obscuring the face and flames.