Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Bodhisattva (bosatsu)

Hōshō Jizō

法性地蔵ほうしょうじぞう

An illustration of Hōshō Jizō created for this site
An original illustration made for this site.

A Jizō listed as one of the Six Jizō; the page also gives the name Fukyūsoku Jizō alongside it.

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 name and role of Hōshō Jizō

A Jizō listed as one of the Six Jizō; the page also gives the name Fukyūsoku Jizō alongside it. There is no explanatory text, and only the two names and their readings can be confirmed.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Staying close to suffering in the six worlds

The Six Jizō are a form of faith in Jizō Bosatsu saving the beings of each of the six paths: hell, hungry ghosts, animals, ashura, humans and heavenly beings. They have been enshrined at places such as cemetery entrances, with prayers for the salvation of the dead. Seen together, the six figures express Jizō's work of bringing salvation to every condition of life.

Source: 浄土宗

The Six Jizō have several naming traditions

Shōhōin lists one set of six including 預天賀地蔵 and another set of six including Jiji Jizō. The combinations of names, forms and attributes are not fixed. This site also keeps the two traditions apart, and it does not mean that all twelve form a single set of Six Jizō.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)