There are two main variations in the way Fudō is portrayed in Japan.

The first type, observed in the oldest surviving Japanese images of the deity, depicts him with wide, piercing eyes, hair braided tightly in rows, and two fangs pointing in the same direction. A lotus flower rests above his head. The second type, which emerged in the late 9th century and became more prevalent during the late Heian and Kamakura periods, portrays Fudō with curly hair.

One eye may be wide open and looking upward, while the other is narrowed and looking downward, a characteristic known as the tenchigan or “heaven-and-earth eyes.”

Similarly, one of his fangs points upward, while the other points downward. Instead of a lotus flower, these images may show Fudō with seven topknots.

The different appearances of Fudō’s eyes and fangs carry allegorical significance, representing both the duality and nonduality of his nature and the nature of reality. The upward-pointing fang symbolizes the process of elevating towards enlightenment, while the downward-pointing fang represents the descent of enlightened beings into the world to guide sentient beings. The two fangs also symbolize the realms of buddhas and sentient beings, yin and yang, and male and female, all expressed through Fudō’s tightly closed lips.

Fudō is commonly depicted with either black or blue skin, with the Sādhanamālā describing his color as resembling the atasī (flax) flower, which can be either yellow or blue. However, there are instances where Fudō may be depicted in other hues. In Tibet, for example, a different representation of the kneeling deity shows him with a white complexion, akin to the sunrise on a snow-covered mountain, reflecting numerous rays of light. In Japan, some images of Fudō may exhibit a red complexion known as Aka-Fudō or a yellow complexion referred to as Ki-Fudō.