Buddhism and Jizo

Sawako Utsumi is a creative contemporary artist who hails from Northern Japan. In this article, Utsumi focuses on Buddhism and the importance of Jizo (Ojizō-sama).

The settings of both simple art pieces are set in winter.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art says, “Although Jizō is invoked for many roles—as protector of travelers, of children, and of women in childbirth—he was especially venerated for his intervention on behalf of those suffering in hell, the lowest of the Six Realms of Existence. He is portrayed as a monk with an open, compassionate expression ready to hear the call of the suffering. In his hand is a traveler’s staff, its six rings a symbol of the extent of his mercy through all realms of being, and its clinking sound a signal of his foot’s fall lest he harm even the smallest creature.” 

The simplicity of both is designed on purpose by Sawako Utsumi. Accordingly, the idea is that Jizo remain in the heart – not sophisticated or philosophical but a feeling of real warmth when times are hard.

Written by Lee Jay Walker