JAPANESE CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

Who is Jizō, and Why the Bib?

Along the old highways of Japan, you will find Jizō statues, often wearing a red cap and bib.

Jizō is a bodhisattva, that is, one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood in order to help others.

Jizō statue near Ryuzu Falls, Tochigi Prefecture.

Jizō was originally the keeper of souls before they were born. From the late 1800s, Jizō came to be known as the guardian of travelers and children, both in this world and the next.

He watches over all children who have died, including miscarried and aborted babies. These children did not have time in their brief lives to build up good karma, as well, they suffer judgment for the heartbreak that their deaths brought to their mothers. Each day the children build towers of pebbles along Sai no Kawara, the riverbank of souls in limbo, in hopes of crossing over and into heaven. But each evening, demons knock down their towers and beat the children.

Don’t worry, though, Jizō rescues the children, hiding them in his big sleeves.

The Jizō of Jizō Pass, Nagano Prefecture.