A Hidden Treasure on Sado Island, Japan
Up a narrow mountain road on the island of Sado, I came upon a remarkable shrine. If you’re not looking carefully, it’s easy to miss the small sign and narrow driveway that leads behind bushes and into a forested area overgrown with grass and weeds.
At first blush, it looks like a fairly typical countryside shrine. But on closer inspection, the grounds reveal treasures.
Nashi no Ki Jizo has a story to tell.
Who is Jizo
Jizo, also written Jizō, is a Buddhist bodhisattva, that is, one who achieves enlightenment but postpones Buddhahood in order to help others. Jizo statues are a common sight along the old roads of Japan. He has long been considered a guardian of travelers, as well as of children.
This shrine, with its Buddhist deity, seems to be a classic example of the syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto, as was the case throughout Japan for centuries until the late 1800s.
Nashi no Ki Jizo
Long ago, some men were out fishing in the Sea of Japan. To their surprise, they spied a stone statue of Jizo visible beneath the clear waters. They pulled it from the sea, brought it to shore, and enshrined it on this hilltop.
By and by, word of this Jizo spread. He was said to have extraordinary powers. People came from far and wide to pray to this Jizo for their sick children. Every prayer for healing offered to the Nashi no Ki Jizo was answered.
Jizo healed the children by removing their illnesses and selflessly taking them upon himself.
You can imagine the sense of gratitude felt by the happy parents.
After their children were healed, parents brought stone Jizo statues to this shrine. Each statue carries the malady of a healed child.
So many thousands of statues have been offered that they overflowed the small shrine building and now fill the grounds, many buried under pine needles or grown over by weeds.
Thousands of statues are old and weathered, their features unrecognizable. Others are new, fresh-faced, and sweet.
Stuffed toys, pinwheels, flowers, and drinks remain where they were offered in front of the Jizo.
If you ever visit Sado Island off the Niigata coast of Japan, take some time to search out this beautiful and sublime hilltop shrine to the beneficent Jizo.
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