Jizō: Protector of the Innocent and the Weak

Ever seen these stone figures in Japan and wondered what they stand for?

Roku Jizō 六地蔵 protector of the weary travellers

Jizō Bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 is a deity of the Bhuddist pantheon who, according to Bhuddist lore, renounced to the eternal rest obtained with its enlightenment in order to help mortals, therefore acquiring the status of Bodhisattva. In Japan Jizō embodies peaceful qualities such as benevolence and generosity, and as such it is considered the protector of pregnant women, children, firemen, and travelers. Jizō acts by relieving their suffering, sharing their pain; it also came to be considered a guide for the wandering souls stuck between the realm of the living and the afterlife.

In modern Japan, Jizō is mainly revered as Mizuko Jizō 水子地蔵 (Jizō of the water child) who takes care of stillborns and children who died at a young age. According to some Buddhist schools of thought, the souls of those children gather in a hell-like place, the bank of the Sanzu River (sai no kawara 賽の河原). While stuck in this children’s limbo they endlessly build stone tumuli in the false hope of crossing the river, which would bring them to salvation, but they are haunted by demons who crush their efforts. In its benevolence, Mizuko Jizō dwells along the Sanzu river, constantly looking for children to protect and console.

Zōjō-ji, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Red hat and bib, the parting gift of grieving parents

Jizō statues wear red hats and bibs as a part of the belief surrounding Mizuko Jizō. Grieving parents bring these clothes to the statues to ask for their lost babies to be protected by the Bodhisattva. In doing so, parents hope that Mizuko Jizō could find their children and give them those garnments, to communicate for the last time their parental love and protection. The peculiar choice of colour is not random, as red is thought to have the property to chase illness and scare demons away. Dressing Jizō with red hats is also frequently explained as a metaphor of the placenta that covers a newborn, associating the image of this carying deity to a mother’s womb.

Mizuko Jizō statues are usually found in cemeteries and temples, where parents can grieve for their children.

Jizo at a cemetery

The evolution of Jizō imagery

Jizō is also known through its sanskrit name of bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, which is formed by the association of the words Kṣiti, ‘earth’, and Garbha, ‘uterus’, and could be understood as ‘Earth’s womb’, ‘Earth’s origin’.

Originally, in the Indian Buddhism, Kṣitigarbha was depicted as an enlightened maiden who vowed her existence to ease human pain. However, sometime during the centuries-long process of transmission of Buddhist teachings from India to Japan, seeping in through Tibet, China and Korea, Kṣitigarbha came to be represented as a male monk.

Zenkōji, Naganomotoyoshichō, Nagano

The development of the Jizō belief in Japan

The figure of Jizō was part of many Bhuddist teachings imported to Japan by emissaries sent to the continent who returned as converted monks during the early stages of the formation of Japanese civilization (6th century A.D.). Bhuddism was quickly adopted by the Imperial court, initiating a long process of syncretism with local systems of belief. During the late Heian period (794–1185) interest in hell and afterlife grew steadily, stemming from the court and slowly inflitrating all society. The charitable bodhisattva was introduced in Japan by associating it to indigenous deities related to fertility, probably due to its original name. The first Jizō statues were comparable in size to other Buddhist sculptures, but progressively shrank as the belief spread across Japan and was adopted by more modest social classes. By the 16th century Jizō was completely integrated in Japanese culture as it became the protector of women. Folkloristic stories about Jizō appearing and helping the needy began circulating, proof of its growing popularity.

The Kamakura Big Buddha (kamakura daibutsu 鎌倉大仏) at Kōtoku-in temple. ©Marty Borsotti

Jizō as the protector of travelers

Despite its association with infantry, Jizō can also assume the role of protector of travelers under its epitome of Roku Jizō 六地蔵 (Jizō of the six worlds). As such, it is commonly represented by six statues located nearby crossroads who, though, are still wearing red hats and bibs. While the colour maintains its function of scaring away demons and bad spirits, the clothes, in this context, are said to represent the wanderer’s equipment.

A popular legend is often presented to explain the garment of Roku Jizō:

Long time ago a poor old man travelled to the capital in order to sell a mantle, as he wanted to buy celebratory food for the New Year festivities. Once there, no one wanted to buy his mantle and he had no other option but accepting a merchant’s offer to trade it for six hats. On his way back to the mountain, the old man stumbled upon six Jizō statues covered in snow. He was moved to pity as they looked cold, outisde in the middle of winter, and out of compassion he covered the statues’ heads with his hats. They still looked cold, so the old man took his scarf and wrapped it around them before heading home. His wife welcomed him and approved his act of mercy. After all, they could celebrate the festivities with the simple food they had. They were very surprised when they found heaps of delicacies in their kitchen as they woke up the next morning. It was a gift from Jizō, who was rewarding the man for his compassion. From that day on, travelers have adapted the custom of dressing Roku Jizō statues with red hats and bibs to ask for the Bodhisattva’s protection against evil spirits and illness during their voyages.

A Jizō statue along a path in the Kyūshū mountains. © Marty Borsotti

Written by Marty Borsotti