10/16/09 5:28
Every time I have gone to a shinto shrine or a buddhist temple, I have seen little rock statues with bibs, or other clothing items (such as hats). These rock statues are "jizou" and I have asked a few people what they are, but they could never really explain it to me properly. Looking on the internet, they are one of the Buddhist Divinities (called Jizou Bodhisattava) He is only commonly found in Japan and China, and even though he represents easing people's suffering in hell, he is more commonly known in Japan as a spirit that looks after children in the afterlife. People put the red bibs on in remembrance of lost children or as a "thank you" for the Jizo helping their children. Jizou are also used as way to guide travellers along the road, and are usually found in groups of six. It seems that there are many different kinds of Jizou, but in general, it seems that Jizou are most commonly there to help guide people or spirits of the dead.
However, one thing that I have found that is interesting is that even though Jizou are associated with the Buddhist religion, I have seen them in Shinto shrines as well. The two pictures in this entry in particular were both taken at Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto. They were scattered all over the walkways around the shrine, and that was when my interest in them first started. When I went to Koya-san, we visited the Buddhist graveyard and there were even more Jizo there! And they had many different colored bibs and hats on them. Unfortunately I do not have pictures of them because I did not have any form of a camera at the time, but this blog has a few pictures of Jizou from Koya-san,
I think the fact that Jizou are found in both types of religious places really emphasizes the fact that Japanese people tend to treat religion as a tradition, and also that both Buddhism and Shinto greatly influence their lives, and they are not exclusive to either one. Whenever I am at a religious site in Japan, I always keep my eyes peeled for the Jizou statues, and the different types of bibs that are tied around them. They are one of the most interesting things about Japanese religion that I have seen so far.
More links on Jizou
More links on Jizou
Ah, the Jizou-san. Quite interesting characters indeed. Have you heard the Japanese folk tale of かさ地蔵, sometimes translated as the story of "The Stone Buddhas"? It's an interesting story for the same blending of elemnts you commented on. A tale of Buddhist statues centered around the New Year (お正月) when people often attend a shinto shrine. Worth checking out for anyone interested in your topic.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't have a camera with you when you went to Koyasan? Dead visual anthropologists are rolling in their graves...
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