JJRS > Volume 46 Issue 2 Finding a Place for Jizō: A Study of Jizō Statuary in the Buddhist Temples of Sendai

Donnere, Alīse Eishō

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Statues of the bodhisattva Jizō can be found in most Buddhist temples in Japan. However, the role they play within the confines of the temple grounds has received little attention from scholars of Japanese Buddhism. In this article, the author analyzes the placement of Jizō statues at 214 temples in the city of Sendai. The eclectic arrangement and styles of these images provide an aesthetic particular to this group of temples, often serving to delineate the boundaries of the temple, the sacred spaces within the temple, as well as the border between mundane and supramundane worlds. As this study demonstrates, the ubiquitous Jizō statues have a variety of purposes that encompass a wide range of religious practices and beliefs in contemporary Japanese Buddhism.