Bodhisattva (bosatsu)
Chigo Fugen
児普賢
This is a name for Fugen Bosatsu depicted in the form of a young child. Shōhōin explains that a pure teaching, free of attachment, is entrusted to the form of a chigo (child). It is presented less as a separate buddha of an independent lineage than as an image expressing the character of Fugen.
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
Fugen Bosatsu depicted in the form of a chigo
This is a name for Fugen Bosatsu depicted in the form of a young child. Shōhōin explains that a pure teaching, free of attachment, is entrusted to the form of a chigo (child). It is presented less as a separate buddha of an independent lineage than as an image expressing the character of Fugen.
Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院
Connection with faith in Fugen
Fugen is handed down as a bodhisattva who puts the Buddha's teaching into practice and protects those who uphold the Lotus Sutra. Its form accompanied by a white elephant is well known, and Chigo Fugen is distinctive in depicting that bodhisattva in the form of a child.
Source: 国立文化財機構 e国宝・飛不動尊 正宝院