Kamakura is an easy place to get to, a quick one hour train ride from Tokyo Station along the Yokosuka Line. As I usually do on any extended trip minus children, I had my knitting with me, my husband had a book, and we alternately attended to our hobbies while watching the countryside speed by us. We were in Japan over the American Thanksgiving holiday, so no beach time for us, but I remember it being a beautiful sunny day, perfect for walking and sightseeing.

When the first destination is fun but the second is inspiring…

The first stop for most just coming off the train in Kamakura is to walk west along the main road towards the Daibutsu, the large sitting buddha.

It’s an extremely popular destination for both foreigners and Japanese alike, so you won’t be the only person standing in front of the giant buddha making the peace sign while others snap photos with rapid abandon. Off to the right side of the giant buddha is a covered area with a huge, absolutely gigantic, pair of straw shoes that made my husband and me laugh. I stood and wondered about the person who had woven them hoping buddha would step off his platform and walk away. Then I took a photo. Of course.

The Daibutsu is fun and interesting, but the statue is, at most, a ten-minute sightseeing effort. Stand and gaze at its immensity, maybe burn some incense, sit and ponder your significance, and move on.

Traveling further east from the daibutsu, we came to the temple I was most interested in, Hasedera. I knew from friends who had visited this temple that it was high up on a hill and had a beautiful view of the bay and beach beyond the city. But what really draws people to Hasedera are the Jizō statues.

These tiny statues are placed on the temple grounds to honor deceased children, children who have either died young or in childbirth, and there are hundreds of them in perfectly symmetrical lines. What struck me most about spending time with the Jizō statues was how quiet everyone was. Silent and respectful. Each statue was a marvel, a representation of a tiny life lost before he or she could make their mark on the world. I wasn’t the only one who kneeled down to make eye contact with one, like you do with a child you want to talk to. I snapped a few photos of them all in a row, and when I placed my camera back in my bag, my knitting was right next to it. I didn’t know this tradition of knitting or crocheting hats or scarves for Jizō statues. Just like we keep our kids warm in the winter, these knitted items protect the little statues from rain, wind, snow, and sun. Had I been prepared, I would have knitted a baby hat and brought it along to adorn a lost soul.

Who was Jizō?

Jizō is best known as the protector of deceased children, especially children who have died before their parents or during childbirth. He guards them and escorts these children into the afterlife across the Sanzu River so they won’t be forced to make penance for all eternity for not having outlived their parents. But Jizō is also the saint that protects travelers and common people, so his likeness is not just found at temples but also at roadside stands and cemeteries.

There is a Japanese children’s story, Kasajizō, about an old man and woman who are poor but still manage to help the animals that depend on them even when they are starving. They’re kind and thoughtful people, despite having very little. When the old man is unable to sell hats he and his wife have made in exchange for food, he places the hats on his neighborhood’s Jizō statues. In return for his kindness, the Jizō statues come to life and deliver food to the old man and his wife. Continuing the circle of gift-giving, the old man and his wife return what they don’t eat to the Jizō statues to thank them.

This story is so iconic of Japanese life, especially concerning the circle of gift-giving that can occur with Japanese people. Once someone is presented a gift, they must respectfully gift something back to the original giver at an appropriate time or holiday. It becomes an obligation, one Japanese omiyage shops are more than pleased to help you with should you be traveling and need a gift to bring home to your coworkers or neighbors. Jizō, traveling, and gift-giving all go hand-in-hand. He is a deity you should keep on your side, at all times.

Protect Jizō from the elements with your knitted gift

Jizō is known for being a benevolent god, helpful and kind, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he deserves a lot of love and affection. Hats and scarves are common gifts amongst the statues, but if you look closer you may find other gifts: a toy yo-yo, a mobile phone charm, a Hello Kitty stuffed animal, a pot of flowers, or even jewelry. Gifts arrive for Jizō statues almost daily, piling up next to and between them until someone comes and moves them to add more.

If you’re a knitter like me, now would be a good time to think about providing him with something warm to get him through winter. I’m sure many of us would want to shroud Jizō in the finest wool and cashmere, but let’s think practically for a moment.

You want your gift to last for a long time. If you’re in Japan for a short stay, it would be worth it to knit something to last until the next time you visit Japan, if ever. You need a shield for your statue, not a comfortable and fluffy sweet frock.

Need to learn how to knit first?

Knitting has become extremely popular in the last five years with well-known figures such as Margaret Atwood, Julia Roberts, Christina Hendricks, Kate Middleton, and even Ryan Gosling all publicly talking about their knitting. Knittinghelp.com is my favorite online resource for learning to knit. Their videos are clear and easy to understand. If you learn better one-on-one with a teacher, be sure to check out your local yarn store to see if they have classes. Once you’ve purchased needles and yarn, become a member of Ravelry.com (it’s free) and log all of your projects there, find others who knit in your community, and cruise the Ravelry boards for inspiration.

Knitting For Jizo

Knitting for Jizō presents its own set of challenges. The statues live outdoors all year round and the weather in Japan can range from blistering hot to frigid to typhoon winds that blow houses down. My suggestion is to go with acrylic yarn, the more workhorse yarn the better. Crocheted red hats are a popular choice (as evidenced by the photo above) because red is the color of life and has traditionally been associated with the protection of children in Japan. It is not uncommon to find Jizō dressed in other colors, though, so I challenge you to step outside the norms and knit or crochet something with love from your heart. Choose a color or pattern that means something to you, something you’ll be able to pick out of the crowd because, if you’re lucky, you may see your gift again in photos online!

When choosing a size, the smaller the better. Jizō statues are generally small with preemie-sized heads. Knit the newborn size but don’t go larger. If you have the skills, add a tie to keep it attached to the statue’s head during typhoons. I have a few pattern suggestions too, if you need somewhere to start.

The Basic Newborn Hat by Major Knitter

• http://majorknitter.typepad.com/major_knitter/2008/11/free-baby-hat-p.html
• http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-newborn-baby-hat—rolled-brim (On Ravelry)

Here’s an example of it knitted in stripes:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/9535337@N08/3726848568

And another one in blue with a rolled brim:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/16674353@N00/7841549606

If you’re a crocheter, try the Teresa’s 10 Minute Crochet Preemie Hat.

• http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/teresa-hat.html
  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/teresas-10-minute-crochet-preemie-hat (On Ravelry)

Here’s an example of them crocheted in several colors:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/34479933@N00/2222933887

And here are some more in muted colors with stripes:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/32853348@N00/8807991853

Remember, you’re crafting this for a statue! You don’t need to worry about how scratchy it’ll be or if you screwed up your decreases. If you have time, knit or crochet a thin, long scarf to add as well. And though you probably don’t want to get too involved with this, the crazier the design and color choice, the better. Have you seen Japanese street fashion? It’s out there, way out there. Your Jizō attire will attract more photos and additional gifts should you decide to be creative so shower your chosen statue in the something you had fun making, something that will bring a smile to mourners’ faces, or just be a bright spot in an otherwise somber tradition.

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Bonus Wallpapers!

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To me, Nara is a place that is deer dear to my heart. When I was five, my family moved from Osaka to a rural town in Nara prefecture, and I lived there until my second year of university. Nara is such a beautiful place filled with lots of memories from childhood to the springtime of my life. My parents still live there and so do many of my friends. To say the least, it is a very special place to me.

On August 8, 2013 on the LINE social network, I received a few messages from my younger brother and sister talking about an earthquake in Nara. Yet, I didn’t really care or get worried when I got them because the messages didn’t seem all that serious. Look at their conversations below:

Bro: 奈良県で地震ですか？ Was there an earthquake in Nara?
Sis: 震度一もないらしいよ It seems that it was even less than M1
Bro: おっ Huh？

However, when I went online afterward to learn more about the quake, I found that it was originally reported that a 7.8 earthquake hit in Nara, but turned out to be a false alarm. Thank God, it could have been a scary big earthquake and I wouldn’t have wanted that (of course!). I’m very glad that it was just a big mistake.

Despite being a false alarm, everyone’s mobile phones went off with emergency alerts, some trains and school elevators were stopped and even Yahoo Japan temporarily went off. My Facebook wall was filled with comments about the incident as well. Some people were thankful that it was just a mistake and that it reminded themselves to be ready for a real earthquake in the future. Others just complained about the false alert.

One of the latter was my friend from high school who was hungover when it happened. He was woken up by the alert and tried to save some water in the bathtub before an actual earthquake happened (remember, he was half asleep and hungover). Of course, he turned the tap in the wrong direction and just got drenched in cold shower water. At that point, he was finally awake enough for the earthquake, but it never happened and that made him particularly upset.

The Power Of The Nara Daibutsu

Meanwhile, one absurd conspiracy began rapidly spreading across the Internet: the Nara Daibutsu (the giant Buddha statue in Nara) was responsible for stopping the earthquake! I’m not sure who started saying this but I do have to say it does sound pretty silly. Before looking at some Nara-Daibutsu-believers’ words, let me tell you about the Nara Daibutsu first.

Nara Daibutsu

The Nara Daibutsu is one of three major Buddha statues in Japan and is located in Todai-ji Temple in Nara. It’s officially called Rushana Buddha, and was constructed in 752. Todai-ji temple has been designated a World Heritage Site as well as a national treasure.

I keep saying that it’s a “giant” Buddha statue, but do you want to know how giant it really is?

Height: 49.1 ft
Face: 17.5 ft
Eyes: 3.3 ft each
Ears: 8.3 ft
Weight: 500 tonnes

To put things in perspective, that’s twice the height of the giant in Jack The Giant Killer. Also, if you’re keeping track that’s 6.5 Yao Mings and ~8 Nic Cages. You certainly have to look up to see it.

The Nara Daibutsu is also known for its big lucky nostril. They say that if you go through the Nara Daibutsu’s nostril it will bring you good luck. There is actually an old support pillar with a hole cut exactly the same size as Buddha’s nostril inside Todaiji next to the giant Buddha statue. If you can get through this then you can get through Buddha’s nostril, at least in theory.

How lucky!

The Words Of The Believers

Regardless of whether or not the Nara Daibutsu actually stopped the earthquake, the believers’ words sound so serious that it becomes a bit silly/funny to me, so I have to share them with you all. Here’s some quotes from Twitter:

Earth quake? Yeah, I suppressed it down.

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An earthquake early warning went out
↓
M7.8 earthquake happened in Nara
↓
Giant Buddha noticed the earthquake
↓
It secretly shot a shock wave to kill the earthquake
↓
Nara people ‘There wasn’t any shake’
↓
Other prefectures people ‘Was it misinformation?’
↓
The proof: the clouds were strange [shaped like Buddha]

[hr]

Nara Daibutsu: “The earthquake happened, but I punched on the ground to offset it

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An earthquake in Wakayama and noise in the ocean near Mie prefecture → Nara Daibutsu noticed this → Nara Buddha saved…right?

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I’ve heard that even a Nostradamus book said that only Japan could avoid disaster because of the power of Nara’s Giant Buddha.

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Giant Buddha: ‘I stopped it after 9 seconds’

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Nara Giant Buddha SUGEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!(GREAAAAAAAT)!!!!!

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Giant Buddha Platinum the world

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Giant Buddha: “An earthquake is coming, right? It’s kind of a wave, right? So if you make a wave towards the opposite direction…like this ‘Ha!’…wait…something was wrong…like this ‘Haaa!!”, yeah, it seems right. Then…yeah…you got it, right?”

Nara people: “That’s amazing and we didn’t know you speak that casually.”

[hr]

Giant Buddha: ‘I stopped the earthquake’
People: ‘Wow, are you God?’
Giant Buddha: ‘No way. I’m just Buddha.’

[hr]

There are more and more quotes, but unfortunately I can’t introduce everything. According to many of them, it seems that the Nara Daibutsu stopped the earthquake by punching into the Earth to make a wave towards the very opposite direction of the earthquake and canceled it out. I’m personally happy to see that so many people are commenting on the power of Nara Daibutsu, which is the symbol of Nara where I grew up! And guess what? I succeeded in interviewing an actual monk in Nara about this Giant Daibutsu rumor!

An Interview With A Nara Monk

This is Yugaku Ikawa (井川裕覚) of Daihisen Tatsunoji Temple (悲山 立野寺) in Yagyu, Nara. He belongs to a Japanese group of Shingon Buddhism called Koyasan Shingon-shu (高野山真言宗). He started off by explaining what Buddhism is like, what kind of religion Shingon-shu is, and then talked about the Nara Daibutsu hypothesis. I translated the interview into English for you to understand.

About Buddhism And Shingon Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion to make yourself Buddha itself by coming in touch with Buddha. Buddha is not in sutra, statues or temples but inside of ourselves.

Shingon Buddhism (真言宗/Shingon-shu) is one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhism lineages, which is called Mikkyō (密教) in Japanese. Mikkyō literally means “secret ways” and was originally started in India, spread to China and then was brought to Japan by a Buddhist monk named Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師) around 1200 years ago. By the time it came all the way to Japan, it adopted various Buddhist and other religions gods’ thoughts and became a more complex and multifaceted system. Mikkyō Monks regard gaining “this-worldly benefits” (現世利益/Genseriyaku) as the most important thing. There are so many practices to do this, including ajikan (阿字観), which is a core meditative practice. Mikkyō Monks try to experience Buddha in themselves throughout those practices and by sympathizing various Buddhas.

About The Nara Daibutsu Hypothesis And Earthquake

This time, the epicenter was reported in Nara which is not typically associated with heavy seismic activity or big disasters, so that added to the puzzlement and also caused the great [Nara Daibutsu] sensation. The Nara Daibutsu (Rushana Buddha) is not only a universe by itself but also of earthly environment, nature and all of our origins. In that kind of meaning, it could be said all the earthly activities including earthquakes are the Daibutsu’s activities as well. I would say that it’s a wonderful result of human beings’ wisdom to prove and elucidate many things scientifically. However, I would also say that it’s very important not to be into only one extreme speculation that “science is the truth” but to realize that we are allowed to live within an earth and universe such as Daibutsu and be thankful for it.

Although I say such serious things, I just find something congenial in Buddha while imagining that it is actually fighting against a plate or an earthquake like an anime character (laughs).

Finally, Japan is said to be an earthquake country, and big ones such as the Great Hanshin earthquake and the Great East Japan earthquake have occurred since I was born. I extend my sincere condolences to all the victims and wish everyone who is still suffering from the earthquake places to relax and settle down. I believe that not only recovering lifelines such as facilities and buildings but also recovering peoples hearts is very important. I wish peaceful minds for as many people as possible. I believe that the true relationships among people makes their zest for living.

[/end interview]

Since there are not any scientific evidences that the Nara Daibutsu defeated the earthquake, the reliability of the hypothesis is questioned. However, why don’t we put scientific and critical opinion aside like the monk said and close our eyes to meditate? Then, repeat the famous false Buddha quote in your mind:

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Anything could be the truth depending on your own mind, it doesn’t matter whether it’s proven or not. So now, tell me your thoughts on the Nara Daibutsu hypotheses!