Location
: Higashi-Kohama 3-chome
This jizo statue is said to be built in 1538, way back in Japan's feudal
days. It is an incarnation of Enma Daio, the Buddhist being that judges
all who enter hell; when the statue was being hauled from the old Namba
shorefront, it suddenly became unbearably heavy, and the carrier was unable
to proceed another step. Legend has it that Rokudo-no Tsuji (the intersection
of six paths), a diabolical netherworld, is now the intersection of seven
paths. As this jizo statue is said to have come about by the Jizo Bosatsu,
the guardian deity of children, reincarnated as Enma, it is said to be
frightening in appearance but gentle in disposition. |