Jizō: Japan’s most loved guardian deity
- Cri
- Nov 19
- 3 min read
Previously published on Minkai.art (March 2021)
In the first article I wrote I mentioned the Bodhisattva Jizō (地蔵, じぞう), the guardian of travelers, pregnant women and unborn babies, the savior of souls in all six planes of existence. Also called Ojizō-sama (お地蔵様, おじぞうさま) and Ksitigarbha (his original Sanskrit name), he’s one of the most revered deities in present Japan, along with the Bodhisattva of compassion Kannon, and the historical Buddha Shaka.
Before talking about this interesting deity, we should spend two words on the concepts of Buddha and Bodhisattva. You may already be familiar with the term Buddha (仏, ぶつ, butsu), the “Awakened” who reached Enlightemnment.
On the other hand, the less known Bodhisattva (菩薩, ぼさつ, bosatsu) are compassionate enlightened beings that refuse to enter Nirvana (涅槃, ねはん, nehan) to help humans to reach the Awakening. In Mahayana Buddhism (the Great Vehicle, the most widespread doctrine) they are intermediaries between people and Nirvana, often prayed more than Buddha themselves. Every bosatsu protects a different element, Jizō being the guardian of earth.
Don’t worry about all the terminology, I’ll delve deeper in Buddhism in a future post. Today I’ll focus on our popular and kind Jizō.
The saviour of lost souls
In his sacred text, the Ksitigarbha sutra, we learn that in his previous life he was born as a young woman. Distraught over her mother’s death, sent to hell for defaming the Three Buddhist Jewels, the girl sold all her worldly possessions to buy offerings to save her parent’s soul. Moved by her gentle spirit, Buddha answered her prayers and brought her to the infernal plane, where the maiden learned that she managed to save her mother, but also witnessed the suffering of the dead. Touched by it, she vowed to relieve their pain in all her future lives.
We don’t know the origin of this text: some scholars believe that it originated in India, while others say it was a Chinese text to begin with. Anyways, the sutra appeared in China in the VII century, and from there it came to Japan, where the cult spread starting from the VIII century (Nara period). Here Jizō was worshiped as the attendant of the infernal judge Enma. For this reason, even today it’s quite common to see him in graveyards.
Jizō modern worshipping
The Roku Jizō worshipping reminds of his ancient Chinese role of afterlife guardian, but as time went on, the Japanese cult changed. In fact, this deity’s role evolved in something new and exclusive to Japan, becoming the protector of pregnant women, unborn babies and children died prematurely. Sculpted with a child-like face, he is often dressed up with red bibs, put on by grieving parents to protect their lost child in the afterlife. One famous destination for this kind of worshipping is the Hase temple in Kamakura (長谷寺), home of the Sentai Jizō (千躰地蔵, lit. “1000 Bodies of Jizō”), one thousand small statues put together to increase the effect of the prayers.
There we can also find the Nagomi Jizō (和み地蔵, lit. “the Calming Jizō), placed in 2010 for ensuring the visitors’ peace of mind. Now a famous landmark, it’s very common to find photos of these statues on social media, especially on Instagram and Pinterest. I have to admit that I, too, am guilty of taking a picture of them. But how could I resist their cute little faces? 🙂
References:
FRÉDÉRIC Louis, Buddhism (Flammarion Iconographic Guides), Flammarion, 1995 Paris
HASEDERA website
SCHUMACHER Mark, “Adapting to the Times: Jizō Statues Along the Kamakura Pilgrimage Route”, Impressions n. 35, 2014
WELCH Matthew, Otsu-e. Japanese Folk Paintings from Harriet and Edson Spencer Collection, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1994 Minneapolis
