About 30 years ago, Mr. Sawai walked around Osaka City to investigate Jizo.
In addition to distributing candy like I experienced this time, there are many other ways to do it, such as passing large prayer beads and chanting Nembutsu, or doing “Homa-bo”.
Osaka Museum of History/Koichi Sawai:
“There is still an activity called ‘Jizobon’ mainly from the Kansai region to the Tokai region, but the details are not well understood, and there is little systematic research, so there are many unknowns.”
Osaka Museum of History/Koichi Sawai:
“Kisitigarbha has been worshiped since the Middle Ages because it was considered the Buddha who saved the dead from the sufferings of hell. At that time, I did not create items like the Ksitigarbha tray. I don’t know why, but in the Edo period, Ksitigarbha took on the nature of a guardian deity of children, and there are records of Ksitigarbha being associated with children as we know it today.
After Mr. Sawai finished speaking, he introduced me to illustrations from a book called “Naniwa Mirror” from the early Edo period.
The painting depicts children gathering in front of a Jizo statue with lanterns hanging from it and offerings placed on the altar.
Around this time, it seems to have spread widely in Osaka as an annual event.
Osaka Museum of History/Koichi Sawai:
“It looks almost the same as it does now, but at that time it was called ‘Jizo Festival’ instead of ‘Jizo Bon Festival’, so it is a historical event. People’s wishes and ideas for memorial services have been accepted for hundreds of years. “
According to Sawai, the wishes people make to Jizo differ depending on the time, place and person.
During the Edo period, the center of Osaka was divided into a chessboard shape, and many Jizo statues were enshrined at the intersections of the roads as the city’s guardian deity.
Therefore, many Jizo statues can still be seen in Osaka City.
Even today, this passionate belief still exists in the name of this place.
Its name is “Rokumanpei-cho”.
This is the place name of Tennoji District in Osaka City.
There are many Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues in the nearby temples.
In fact, there is an old legend here that states that “60,000 Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statues were dug out from the ground,” and it even became the name of the town.
Shinkoin Temple/Temple Priest Takito Yasunori:
“Jizo is a kind Buddha who reaches out to help children. Jizo is a familiar presence that people worship and hold hands with on the streets every day.”
The reason why Jizo has lasted so long is because of the obsession with Jizo.
Why do you give me candy?
Another big question.
Why do we hand out candy to children?
“In the Edo period, people would receive ‘handed-down’ offerings from Jizo, cook them, and eat them together. For example, they would steam sweet potatoes, etc. The idea was to have a side dish party with vegetables. The original meaning was to have everyone eat these offerings.”
This custom changed significantly during the Meiji period.
It is said that the reason was the outbreak of the infectious disease cholera.
Cooking and eating ‘old goods’ (offerings) may have become outdated due to the cholera epidemic in the 1900s. The government told us not to eat and drink together because it would affect our lives. “It would spread cholera. So we stopped eating and drinking together and started distributing candy and playing games.
Originally, everyone would cook offerings to Jizo, but due to the epidemic, this was no longer possible, so it seems that distributing candy and playing games spread instead.
Jizo is an activity where people living in different eras change their appearance according to the era, and sometimes change their form, and I think it reflects today. To put it coolly, it is like an archive in itself.
