Zen’en (1197–1258) Jizo Bosatsu Japan; Kamakura period (1185-1333), 1221–1226 Japanese cypress (hinoki) with cut gold leaf (kirikane) and pigment, inlaid crystal eyes (gyokugan); staff with metal attachments H. 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm), excluding base Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art 1979.202a-e

According to the Buddhist philosophy of transmigration, sentient beings are subject to an endless cycle of rebirths. A person’s deeds and actions in this life will determine his next rebirth in one of the six realms (rokudo): heavens, humanity, animals, warring demons, hungry ghosts, and hells. At a time when the Japanese aristocracy became increasingly focused on rebirth in Pure Land, the blissful domain of the Buddha Amitabha (Amida) outside the rokudo, commoners—thinking that such a glorious place was likely beyond their reach—turned to belief in Jizo instead. In the three main scriptures related to Jizo, the bodhisattva appears both as a benevolent figure who takes various forms to help sentient beings in this world and as a savior who traverses the rokudo and rescues those suffering in hell. It was this latter role that gained Jizo adherents among the Japanese of the Heian period. By the beginning of the thirteenth century, when the warfare and epidemics of the past few decades had provoked a pessimism that made the chance for rebirth in Pure Land seem even more remote, the popularity of Jizo soared.

Subsequently Jizo came to be worshipped as the special protector of infants and children. Even today, the numerous stone statues of Jizo that stand at crossroads and near cemeteries are often adorned with bibs and bonnets by locals, perhaps mothers or would-be parents seeking blessings for children. These stone images point to another aspect of folk belief in Jizo as a guardian of roadways and, metaphorically, as a guide for those who finish the journey of this life.

The great temple Kofukuji in Nara was instrumental to the spread of early Jizo belief; a Jizo hall was established at the site as early as 771. It is not surprising that Jizo would take a prominent place among the divinities of the Kasuga-Kofukuji complex by the close of the Heian period.