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The Mandala of Matarajin |
| The Mandala of Matarajin is the most commonly used depiction of him. He’s depicted as an old man wearing a kariginu and a futou, sitting in a chair, beating a kotsuzumi with a wide grin. In front of him, his attendants Nishita and Teireita are dancing wearing bugaku dancers’ clothes and kazeori eboshi while holding a stick of bamboo and myoga ginger leaves . Above them the Big Dipper constellation can be seen. |
Although he’s depicted in other ways, it’s important to mention that all other deva are depicted as either a heavenly guardian or a fierce protector, usually in clothing that’s either formal or related to their roles, usually standing up straight or sitting in a lotus position (referring to Japanese depictions of deva specifically). Their expressions are also either furious (in the case of wrathful deva like Bishamonten) or peaceful.
Matarajin-sama, in opposition to that, is depicted sitting leisurely in casual clothing playing an instrument with a wide smile. This can be attributed to many things, one of them being his nature as a syncretic deva as there are kami depicted doing leisurely activities and enjoying themselves (Ebisu-sama and Daikokuten-sama come to mind for example). The other could be his unconventionality in both nature and related practices, as he's a kami with many unique qualities and surrounding practices to him.
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