Hōgyū Jizō



Hōgyū Jizō (放牛地蔵) are Japanese stone statues, mostly representing the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, made by Buddhist monk Hōgyū (around 1672–1732) between 1722 and 1732 in Kumamoto, Japan. When Hōgyū was about 14, in 1686, his father was killed by a samurai. Later he made stone statues for the repose of the soul of his father.

Historical records
In January 1686, a blacksmith called Hichizaemon, a heavy drinker, threw a bamboo blower at his son. It accidentally hit the forehead of a samurai, Ohyano Genzaemon. Despite repeated apologies, Genzaemon immediately killed Hichizaemon with a sword, that being legal at the time by kiri sute gomen. Genzaemon, the son and his sister all wrote witness statements, and the Bugyō did not punish Genzaemon.

Out of grief, the son entered the Buddhist priesthood for the repose of his father, and offered a prayer with a vow that he would make 100 stone statues. He made 107 stone statues between 1722 and 1732. He died in 1732. The 100th statue was in Ōjō-in Temple in Kumamoto, and it was the largest statue (186 cm high) among others standing on the big stone lotus.

Stone statues
Most common are standing or sitting statues of Ksitigarbha with a monk's staff in the right hand and Cintamani in the left hand. There are other types of statues, such as Amitabha, Guanyin, Avalokitesvara, Bhaisajyaguru and mixtures of these statues. The height differs from the size of a person to 50 cm. Behind each statue is a boat-shaped Aureola on which is written "Tariki" ("Through the Buddha") and the sequence number of his statue such as the 100th, and the petitioner is Hōgyū.

Another opinion
Hideo Nagata studied every statue of Hōgyū and stated that the Hōgyū was not the boy whose father was killed. The statues might be connected with the circumstances of the time such as famine.

Poems
The following are douka, or didactic poems, of Hōgyū:

"Those who are rich and those who are not, differ in the present world, but they are the same after death. (19th statue)"

"You who speak to us, and we who are spoken to, both are of transient existence like dreams. (75th statue)"

"A cow without a bridle (Hōgyū) which carries Sattva on its back, leads people to a country of Buddha. (38th, 67th, 71st, 73rd, and 74th statues)"

"Hōgyū is like a bathhouse, the people in the world are like those who bath in the bathhouse. (14th statue)"

"A burglar and I who met burglary, are the same on the same Padma (attribute). (22nd statue)"

"A break comes, which leads us to the future, not the past; come rain any time, blow wind at any time. (3rd statue)"

"In the present world, like both sides of leaves which receive wind, things go in one way or another. (29th statue)"

"People' tongue is sweet, like candy or sugar or licorice; Amitabha is not sweet, though not outspoken. (60th statue)"

"If you ask me what I am, I will answer either I am mountain or river, but if you ask me what my heart is, I do not know how to answer. (24th statue)"

"Before bowing Kami or Buddha, you should bow your parents, there is nothing like parents, who are like Buddha. (41st, 44th and 51st stone statues.)"