Horyuji-(8/15)

When you stand in front of the central gate, you will see Kongoh Statue on the right side and Rikishi Statue on the left side. The right statue is opening his mouth and the left is closing his mouth and faces of the statues (height:3.8 meters) are in anger.
In Sanskrit alphabet, the first of 12 vowels is "a" with pronunciation in opening mouth and the last is "hum" with pronunciation in closing mouth. In the Buddhism world, the pair of "a" and "hum" means all. On the other hand, Kongoh means very firm and Rikishi means mighty man.
By these meanings, the both statues are thought to be the guardians of all of the Buddhism with firm will and strong power.
The both statues are designated as Important cultural assets.

Rikishi Statue( "hum" style)	Kongoh Statue( "a" style)