Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Group of figures

Jūsanbutsu (the Thirteen Buddhas)

十三仏じゅうさんぶつ

A grouping of thirteen buddhas who guide the departed to the Pure Land.

This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.

English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む

The Thirteen Buddhas: seeing off loved ones and asking for guidance

Faith in the Thirteen Buddhas asks for the guidance of each buddha on the days of memorial services, from the seventh day after death through the later memorial years. In Shōhōin's list they are arranged in order from Fudō Myōō to Kokūzō Bosatsu. Against the background of belief in the Ten Kings who judge the dead and in the buddhas regarded as their true forms, the set of thirteen took shape in Japan.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

The names and roles of the Jūsanbutsu

A grouping of thirteen buddhas who guide the departed to the Pure Land. It is explained that each has an assigned occasion, from the seventh day after death to the thirty-third memorial year.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Tracing their forms and traditions

Fudō Myōō, Shaka Nyorai, Monju Bosatsu, Fugen Bosatsu, Jizō Bosatsu, Miroku Bosatsu, Yakushi Nyorai, Kanzeon Bosatsu, Seishi Bosatsu, Amida Nyorai, Ashuku Nyorai, Dainichi Nyorai and Kokūzō Bosatsu are listed in order. It is said that in China they were regarded as the honji (original buddhas) of the Ten Kings, and that in Japan, from the medieval period on, three more were added to complete the set.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)