o-omi

Updated: June 28, 2025

At this desperate stage Prince Shotoku then a lad of sixteen fastened to his helmet images of the "Four Guardian Kings of Heaven"* and vowed to build a temple in their honour if victory was vouchsafed to his arms. At the same time, the o-omi, Umako, took oath to dedicate temples and propagate Buddhism. The combat had now assumed a distinctly religious character.

F. (Frank) Brinkley - A History of the Japanese People : From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era