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Jizou@n | ||||||
KEY WORD :@art history / iconography | ||||||
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Lit. earth repository (Sk: Ksitigarbha). A bodhisattva
*bosatsu μF believed to
have been entrusted with the task of saving sentient beings during the period
between the death of *Shaka ίή and
the advent of the next Buddha *Miroku νθΣ who is traditionally expected to appear 5,670 million years after the demise
of Shaka. The cult of Jizou does not appear to have been very wide-spread in India,
but in China and especially Japan his popularity came to rival that of *Kannon ΟΉ whose tendency to manifest himself in many different forms in order to save
people from suffering made him immensely popular. In Japan there are records that
he was worshipped already in the Nara period, but the earliest extant image
of Jizou is that at Kouryuuji L² in Kyoto, dating from the early Heian period. Jizou is usually represented either standing or seated in the guise of a monk,
with a shaven head and wearing monk's robes. In early examples he holds a wish-fulfilling
gem *houju σμ in his left
hand while his right hand displays the wish-granting mudra *yogan-in ^θσ. Later examples, from about the mid-Heian period onwards show him holding
a gem in his left hand and a staff *shakujou ΰρ in his right, and this has since become the standard form. Some other variant
forms are as follows: Yata Jizou ξcn (the prototype for which is found at Kongousenji
ΰR, also known as Yatadera ξc in Nara), holds a gem in his left hand
and displays the mudra for bestwoing fearlessness *semui-in {³Ψσ with his right hand; Enmei Jizou ½n (Longevity), seated with the left
leg pendent; Hadakajizou n (Naked), with the image clothed in real robes and
not carved as part of the image; Hibou Jizou νXn (Hatted) with his head covered. Karate Jizou σθn (Empty-handed), holding nothing in his hands; Shougun
Jizou Rn (Victorious), shown clad in armour. Reflecting the great popularity of his cult
among the general populace, stone images of Jizou are very common in Japan, and
will often be seen even along the roadside. Because of his mission to save all
sentient beings, there evolved the idea of six Jizou Roku Jizou Zn , one responsible
for each of the six realms of transmigratory existence (see *rokudou-e ZΉG). The six realms constitute the life cycle of unenlightened mortals: they
are Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity and Heaven. Representations of these
six Jizou are common. The denizens of hell were considered to be especially deserving
of his help, and thus Jizou has come to be revered in particular as the saviour
of those suffering therein. Both in China and Japan he is sometimes depicted in
hell surrounded by the Ten Kings (or Judges) of Hell *juuou \€; such a depiction is called a picture of Jizou and the Ten Kings Jizou
juuou-zu n \€}. As a result of this compassionate association he was also
assimilated into the Pure Land faith joudokyou ςy³, and there evolved
a version of the Amida triad *Amida
sanzon ’νΙOΈ with *Amida ’νΙ
flanked by Jizou and Kannon, and an Amida pentad Amida gobutsu ’νΙά§ consisting
of Amida, Kannon, *Seishi ¨, Jizou and Ryuuju ΄χ (Sk:Nagarjuna). Jizou is also regarded as the protector of children,
in which role he is known as Kosodate Jizou qηn (child-raising) and may be represented
cradling a child, and he figures among the so-called Thirteen Buddhas *juusanbutsu \O§, presiding over the memorial service held on the 35th day after a person's
death. In Esoteric Buddhism mikkyou §³, Jizou appears in the matrix mandala
*Taizoukai mandara Ω EΦδΆ
as the central figure in the Jizouin n @ where he takes the form of a bodhisattva
holding a solar disc in his right hand and a lotus surmounted with a banner in
his left hand. In the Diamond World mandala * Kongoukai
mandara ΰEΦδΆ
he is identified in Japan with Kongoudou ΰο (Sk: Vajraketu)
among the sixteen great bodhisattvas juuroku daibosatsu \ZεμF. |
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(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.@No reproduction or republication without written permission. fΪΜeLXgEΚ^ECXgΘΗASΔΜRecΜ³f‘»E]ΪπΦΆά·B |
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