I'm sorry 😭 linfamy the I can't get the sound effects on fan fiction to work right 😢 Oh if you read this I made a puzzle video called. I challenge The puzzle/ challenge is in-between the words. The challenge and now solve it Ignore the rest 😁
When I took my Asian Religion class in college my professor made a point that we should never show any disrespect to Jizo statues because of their importance to mothers who have lost children
You should never show disrespect to the religious/theological figures of any culture. That's just part of not being an a-hole. There is a group in Japan that believes that Jesus visited Japan and influenced the religion. It honestly doesn't add up, but people are gonna believe what they want, ya know?
the thing with the child going to Limbo because it died too young gives off the same energy as the people who died of sickness or old age going to Hel in norse mythology. being punished for dying the wrong way, what a grim notion
This thing seems peculiar to Japanese Buddhist sects. Theravada Buddhists seem to believe that rebirth is almost instantaneous i.e. no need to cross some Buddhist Styx river. Tibetan Buddhists seem to believe that there is an interim state between death and rebirth, called the "bardo" states or something, which may last a minimum of 7 days to a maximum of 49 days. I don't remember the crossing of some river being a significant point in the bardo state, but I could be wrong. Either way, I myself come from a Buddhist family and have never heard of babies being abandoned at the river banks of the afterlife. As Linfamy stated, Buddhism blended with local religions in order to spread faster and more effectively. So it's natural that the Buddhisms of different areas take on the peculiarities of the cultures of those areas.
In sekiro you can find bundled jizo statues, the item states : To enswathe a Jizo statue is to express feelings of parental love. The bundle of cloth is to at least ensure that the little one goes on in peace. You can find some of them in really sad places. The one in senpou temple made me feel teary.
@@edi9892 The monks of senpou temple are conducting experiments on children to gain inmortality. Hundreds of children died in those experiments, including Roberto, the son of the western armoured knight. In a small hill outside senpou temple there are hundreds of small jizo statues and little pinwheels. I believe they were built by kotaro or some other member of the taro troop who reside in senpou, since they themselves are like giant deformed babies. I think that jizo statue you get (which is one of the most powerful items in the game) is a way for the children to support you in your quest on purifying senpou temple. I thought it was touching.
Standing alone in a temple, facing a bank of Jizo statues, with no sound other than that of the pinwheels left by grieving parents being blown by the breeze, is both the eeriest and saddest experiences I've ever had in Japan.
"The main difference between bodhisattvas and gods is that serious Buddhists will teach you great suffering if you call bodhisattvas gods." So they're like saints?
From my study of Buddhism, yes The term literally means a sentient being (sattva) who is enlightened (bodhi). Another way of putting it is that they have achieved bodhicitta (enlightened consciousness, a way of looking upon all sentient beings with love).
Not exactly. Some, many even, are actually gods, insofar as they've been reborn into Tushita or Sukhavati or other heavenly realms. They're somewhere between gods and saints. Or rather, they're gods because they're saints.
there is a couple of old Jizō just next to my parents house. I was told it's technically not ours and it seemed the community members took care of it (cleaning, offering water etc). never asked its origin but yeah, infant death was very real. when I visited my family graves I found the names and ages of the deceased enclaved on the tombstone. many kids in family died too young, and grandpa said it was like that everywhere back in the day.
I've been reading old population records for genealogy purposes and one family (here in central Finland) got stuck in my head for a long time.. The records were from early 1800s and total, that couple gave birth to 14 children but only 6 of them lived past ~seven years of age. They give the same name for 3 of their sons, a name they clearly wanted for the oldest son but the infants/toddlers kept dying... Their 3rd eldest son lived to adulthood. In 1800s/early 1900s there ravaged many infectious diseases (like Scarlet Fever and Tb) across Finland and many small children died because there were no cure or vaccine for those diseases yet. There are so many small graves in old cemeteries up here with birth/death dates that differ only couple of years or even months. Especially from around y.1900 to 1910
It is amazing how cutthroat of a religion Buddhism can often be. It doesn't seem like the normal rules for reincarnation (which unfortunately have been used to explain and justify people having unfortunate lives, mental infirmities or even physical deformities) apply to babies who die in childbirth or even kids who die young. It seems as if they are automatically punished for dying young. The only sense that I can make of it is that maybe the parents would have been counting on their kids to grow up and take care of them when they were elderly. Basically, the only retirement plan that existed before social security. By a child dying, it would seem that the kid failed to honor its parents by failing to provide them with a comfortable or at least stable life in old age. Basically, the death of the kid would mean that the kid was dishonoring its family, even if it was not intentional. That's the only sense that I can make of it, anyway. Edit: I was mistaken in applying this belief in "baby Hell" to Buddhism overall, given that it's a Japanese take that doesn't fit within the original, unadulterated Buddhist scriptures. However, my belief in the unfairness of ascribing lives spent in misery and misfortune to Karma from a past existence stands.
Yeah, it's a surprisingly hardcore religion. Before I started learning about it, I always imagined Buddhists as just a bunch of mountain-hippy philosophers that practiced chemistry and did cool martial arts. Ah well, I guess no faith is without it's harsher elements.
@@Daniel_Lancelin I mean, at least budhist are based of truth and wisdom, instead of other religion which story seems like there hiding the truth from people, I mean, how are you gonna develop if you are trapped in a cycle based on lie , stupidity and ignorance?
@@w.dgaster6386 Oh, I wasn't trying to condescend their beliefs or anything like that, I was just saying that I was surprised by how harsh some of it is. My mental image of it was always the kindly old Tibetan guy who lives in a monastery, not the *_Ikkō-shu warrior-monks_* or something lol. I've been researching it more lately as part of my studies on Japan, and it's very interesting to see how their traditions and beliefs changed across cultures.
many countries in Europe sadly lost their original old beliefs and lore due to aggressive Christianson. I'm sure if a time traveler could research it, most nation's traditions would be just as interesting and varied!
Do you feel that it is because the birth rate has dropped and raising children isn't considered such an essential part of life or do you think that Japan has become too secular for these statues?
@@bigfotpeesonyoutube9647 I mean, child mortality is also way less compared to the early 20th century. Less kids are being born but of those kids, even less are dying in childhood. Japan has around 2 deaths per 1000 live births compared to 75 deaths per 1000 in 1970
@@emilybarclay8831 So you believe that these statues would be seen as quaint nowadays since infant mortality is so low and people are less likely to need to find solace in the loss of a child?
In the game Okami, you can find a lot of these scattered throughout. Over time you can visit a pottery maker who will give you a new vase and flowers, where you can offer them to the little statues. Makes sense as the character you play as is Amaterasu, “The Mother to us all”.
These mythology/folk religion videos are always some of my favorites. Would be neat to see a video about Kangiten, who is basically Ganesha from Hinduism but heavily altered for Japanese Buddhist tastes. One of the wildest parts is that temples with Kangiten statues keep them in locked boxes that must never be opened, and despite the secrecy he still has a strong following among laypeople.
@@Linfamy Absolutely! I spent so much time with the exploration and the photo-mode. It's almost impossible not to get immersed in the game's environment and story. 💙
@@Linfamy please do one on east asian warfare ,how did east Asian societies train for it ,martial arts origin and weapons ,how were pre war rituals eyc
I see that the comments theme is "where did you first see/hear of jizō statues? " and in my case it was a book: The Woman in the White Kimono - Ana Johns. If you like historical novels i recommend it.
Carried over karma from a previous life I suppose? It would be interesting to hear a master talk about this. I don’t think this exists in other branches of Buddhism.
In Christianity saints can't become god, to be granted sainthood by the Catholic church , have to preform a documented miracle. In Buddhism, the bodhisattva is choosing to not become a God to help people and is reincarnated to other bodies, continuing to live among the unenlightened. Doesn't feel similar to me
I had always heard of Jizo statues in connection to "kirisute gomen" so its cool to hear about the much broader story and much larger practice of the Jizo statues
I've not watched the video yet but Memoirs of a Geisha (the book, not the movie) makes mention of Mameha praying to jizo statues for the abortions she had to have or else she would've had to give up working (though the real geisha the whole book was greatly inspired by, Mineko Iwasaki, states that if it is a girl, there's a greater likelihood that the baby will be welcomed, as she can be trained up from the actual traditional age of three instead of later in life). I believe now, you cannot become a full-time geisha until you have graduated junior high, which in Japan is around the age of fifteen. The training of a geisha doesn't teach much of anything related to science, math, social studies, languages, etc, so to better connect with their customers, and for the sake of a girl choosing...or being forced to take a different career path, at least a junior high education is mandatory. Sorry, that got totally off track, lol.
I wanted to comment on this to let you know that I really appreciated your comment. I really loved that book and the history that came with it, but I had no actual useful comment so.... yeah. >.>
If y all think Japans population crisis is bad tier appearently S Korea drifts stright into literal extinction depression this might includes taiwan too but out of the trio the worst youthless decimation is in s korea
Aren’t both countries where, unless you’re fabulously wealthy, you need two incomes to support a family? It’s a bad situation to plunge a mother into. Only mothers who happen to work for a European/American firm tend to (not all, it depends on who the company picks or sends to run the overseas firm) be fortunate enough to have an employer willing to accommodate a pregnant woman.
@@darter9000 exactly! That as well as the marriage laws are quite literally a financial and psychological butcher sentence for the potentially former bachelors
South Korea is swimming in traditions, culture and laws that prevent anything getting better ever or at least for a veeeery long time, I hope people become happy, kind and prosperous :(
Are they also like those teddy shrines with candles you can find in Europe, mostly on roads and at rivers? We set them up, when a kid dies there. I know a road which had 5 of them despite not being that crazy long. Even worse: this road is perfectly straight and broad enough that you could make evasive driving maneuvers without crashing into trees and yet, I once saw a car wreck on my way to work. Both front doors were open, the driver was gone, but the girl at his side remained hanging in the seatbelt. She was still a teen and dressed for party. She was clearly dead and what really hit me was the realisation that she must have died yesterday, or in the early morning and yet her corpse was still there at 8:00. Thus, hundreds must have drove past her and not informed authorities, nor did the driver... To add even further disrespect, no new cross was erected at the site of her demise, not even a candle put there...
In Victoria BC, there is a special garden where parents can put “spirit houses” for their lost babies from miscarriage or stillbirth. I have one for my twins, and one for my recent miscarriage. Due to covid I can’t visit (no border crossings) but I hope someone passes their stone house and leaves a small pebble or leaf or something
Cool and easy to understand explanation on Bodhisattva. In Buddhism view Gods are still stuck in Samsara and very much attach to worldly things, Bodhisattvas are not. But other than that, function as their version of god in their own right. AFAIK in Theravada, Bodhisattva refer to previous incarnations of the OG Buddha as it takes many many life times to reach enlightenment. They do have concept of Arhat, however. Someone who already achieved Nirvana while still living. But unlike Bodhisattva, Arhat does not reincarnate to help other people but waiting for their karma to runs its course and escape Samsara when they die.
Watching again (and linking to a musical friend who asked what Jizo statues were). This is really good content, Lin. It acts as a bridge between cultures, focusing on the syncretic elements, allowing us to look through different eyes, if only for a moment. +2 Internets.
Dear Linfamy Sir, do you think the Japanese people will ever overcome the stigma concerning Japanese orphans and children in the foster care system? If more people would be willing to adopt or at least give them homes, there would be a Lot Less Childless Households.
No. Unless the family/kazoku registry system changes, social stygma will win. Adult adoption still happens in some cases, but that is for heirloom purposes.
@@LathropLdST I'm actually very aware of these systems. I believe the entire system of family registry needs to be seriously reevaluated in order for the whole society to thrive.
Politicians and social workers are working on it, but it's an uphill battle. As you realize, we need reevaluation. I'd say we likely need to deploy healthcare workers and child development workers to document the damage being done as well as how much it costs to twist a few ankles and wrists towards reminding people that tradition can bankrupt a nation.
@@jamie1602 agreed... and that's a very thoughtful approach, to such a very complicated situation. The desire to keep culture alive is completely understandable, but perhaps recognizing that any living culture must evolve to survive its own changing circumstances is what will actually keep it thriving.
@@darthtaiter It seems like the population crisis in Japan is very much related to several societal problems. Lack of adoption, xenophobia (the billionaire founder of Softbank might still not be a Japanese citizen (?) since his parents were from Korea), and sexism (the ridiculousness with Japanese royal women still not being able to inherit the throne so women get abused for not giving birth to boys)
The story I'd heard was that it was specifically a single old hag whose name I can't remember who torments babies along the Sanzu river and I seem to remember her doing things too horrible for Linfamy to mention. I think I also remember Jizo (or a figure that was probably suppose to be Jizo) offer himself up as the subject of the hag's torment to free the babies.
Oh, this explains the Japanese Barcode Battler II card, "Chiezo", which depicts a statue which can tell the player where to find one of the missing keys.
Wait--so if the bebe makes enough stone statues s/he'll be guided across the river by Jizō? What do the towers represent? How is building them an act of repentance?
It represents the virtue for their parents which haven't done when alive. Well, there is no source in the Buddhist scriptures, but it is just a folk belief.
I remember getting a recommendated reel on Instagram that was an American girl taking a picture of the "cute little statues in adorable red bibs" at a Japanese cemetary...ooooffff
At least she wasn't touching them, stealing them or disrespecting them like some people do in bone sanctuaries or graveyards, did wish someone could tell her the cute dolls have a tragic reason to be there like road teddies, at least she'd grow from the discovery and learn if she's kind enough to listen
It's funny how the gaijin said that only Japan has a declining birthrate, but it's becoming a worldwide phenomenon. I'm waiting for their next projection on Japan.
it is everywhere, due to people having to spend more time working when young...but worse in japan than most other places. we'll be seeing more of it this century.
Buddhism was already integrated with Shintoism in many areas, so unless they are a very strict sect, I think the belief in Jizo was naturally incorporated into Buddhism at that time.
So, babies can be taken under the age of seven but are blamed for causing pain, even though they were kidnapped? And, red is used to guard against impurities but menstrual blood, that is red, is impure. Contradictions, why?
I like the translation of bodhisattva being saints or minor gods. That seems to make more sense. I knew Jizo was the god of travelers and kids, so I made offerings when I saw a shrine when I was visiting. But the rest is all new to me. The crossing of the Sanzu River sounds just like the crossing of the River Styx in Greek mythology.
You ever hear a word so many times in succession that your brain starts to drift off? I swear at one point Jizō turned into Jesus in my mind and I did a double take.
I find it horrible how some beliefs really think children end up in hell or limbo. Children are innocent beings free from sin. They're automatically sent to the highest level of heven.
Earlier today I went to a health store that sold books. As I walked to another area I felt something or someone looking at me but I could feel a happy and calm nature near me. I turn around and it was this little stone statue with a smile on its face and head tilted. But I decided to buy it. After I checked out the lady told me it was a jizo san statue. After doing research jizo was a amazing person. Guess that’s why I was attracted to the statue
3 роки тому+1
Brazilian here; those stacks of stones are found in rivers, waterfalls, and basically any place considered 'spiritual' or 'sacred' here. I wonder if the lore behind it is similar to this one
6:23 I was legitimately thinking “would it help the babies to knock them down?” I mean, if you knock the tower down, then they have to make more, meaning they have more potential merits to gain. So, would toppling the towers actually help them out? Or, is it measured by the towers still standing.
I have spent alot of time in Japan and I studied the culture ( I asked alot of questions to the locals I often hung out with ) it is very secular but the culture merged with their beliefs into a custom more than a religious practice, alot like modern Christmas is for alot of people including Japan ( they love KFC ) but it's a family/ dating day.
So this is the context/partial inspiration for Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Bankai And its name,Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, from Bleach. Kinda makes it more disturbing...
Isn't there like a story about a man that trades his wares for Seven hats. On his way back he finds Seven statues that are Being snowed on. He feels sorry for them and gives them the hats. The next morning he finds fine wares in front of his house and Seven dragmarks
At 7:20 to what you were doing that quote about selling that item.. What if the guys doing the torturing is actually these guys. Because he said "buy this or else"
For the red bibs or clothes, in Taiwan I saw some of those lion statues with red clothes on them. And kids in Chinese culture always wear those bib things. almost like what Chihiro wore in spirited away.
ablublublublublu
Japanese Buddhism: ua-cam.com/video/rUG4ifeWzTk/v-deo.html
Please consider supporting the channel =)
🔸PATREON (blog, art): www.patreon.com/Linfamy
🔸MEMBERSHIP: ua-cam.com/users/Linfamyjoin
🔸MERCH: linfamy.creator-spring.com (shirts, stickers, phone cases, and more!)
🔸DONATE: www.paypal.me/Linfamy
Me: I am drowning!
Linfamy: Blublublublub
why do you never turn around?
Are you hiding your tails?
@@greekyogurt9997 yes I am
I was not expecting you to reply
I'm sorry 😭 linfamy the I can't get the sound effects on fan fiction to work right 😢
Oh if you read this I made a puzzle video called.
I challenge
The puzzle/ challenge is in-between the words.
The challenge and now solve it
Ignore the rest 😁
When I took my Asian Religion class in college my professor made a point that we should never show any disrespect to Jizo statues because of their importance to mothers who have lost children
Jizo is jesus.
@@joltjolt5060 wrong country man
You should never show disrespect to the religious/theological figures of any culture. That's just part of not being an a-hole.
There is a group in Japan that believes that Jesus visited Japan and influenced the religion. It honestly doesn't add up, but people are gonna believe what they want, ya know?
And when the mothers are having their periods people profit by selling talisman to them so Jizo can protect the unholy blood
@@Just1Nora I'm sure there's a manga about it
the thing with the child going to Limbo because it died too young gives off the same energy as the people who died of sickness or old age going to Hel in norse mythology. being punished for dying the wrong way, what a grim notion
Especially with kids, who can't even choose :p
Wait, whaattt???? How else is someone supposed to die if not from old age??
@@shivanichoubey22 "ideally" fellas would die in combat, so they would either go to Valhalla or Fólkvangr (50/50 chance)
There's also the unbaptized babies stuck at the gates of Hell in Christian mythology (according to Dante, anyway).
This thing seems peculiar to Japanese Buddhist sects. Theravada Buddhists seem to believe that rebirth is almost instantaneous i.e. no need to cross some Buddhist Styx river. Tibetan Buddhists seem to believe that there is an interim state between death and rebirth, called the "bardo" states or something, which may last a minimum of 7 days to a maximum of 49 days. I don't remember the crossing of some river being a significant point in the bardo state, but I could be wrong. Either way, I myself come from a Buddhist family and have never heard of babies being abandoned at the river banks of the afterlife.
As Linfamy stated, Buddhism blended with local religions in order to spread faster and more effectively. So it's natural that the Buddhisms of different areas take on the peculiarities of the cultures of those areas.
In sekiro you can find bundled jizo statues, the item states : To enswathe a Jizo statue is to express feelings of parental love. The bundle of cloth is to at least ensure that the little one goes on in peace. You can find some of them in really sad places. The one in senpou temple made me feel teary.
Why that one?
@@edi9892 The monks of senpou temple are conducting experiments on children to gain inmortality. Hundreds of children died in those experiments, including Roberto, the son of the western armoured knight.
In a small hill outside senpou temple there are hundreds of small jizo statues and little pinwheels. I believe they were built by kotaro or some other member of the taro troop who reside in senpou, since they themselves are like giant deformed babies. I think that jizo statue you get (which is one of the most powerful items in the game) is a way for the children to support you in your quest on purifying senpou temple.
I thought it was touching.
@@herman1francis Damn. I never knew this backstory. I only knew that that angry knight was looking for Robert...
@@edi9892 If you are interested in sekiro's lore and backstory I recommend the videos of vaatividya.
Thanks for sharing!!!🙏😪
Standing alone in a temple, facing a bank of Jizo statues, with no sound other than that of the pinwheels left by grieving parents being blown by the breeze, is both the eeriest and saddest experiences I've ever had in Japan.
ablublublublublu
"Truly a being of infinite compassion."
And also bladder capacity.
It's just a metaphor...maybe.
🤣🤣
"The main difference between bodhisattvas and gods is that serious Buddhists will teach you great suffering if you call bodhisattvas gods."
So they're like saints?
From my study of Buddhism, yes
The term literally means a sentient being (sattva) who is enlightened (bodhi). Another way of putting it is that they have achieved bodhicitta (enlightened consciousness, a way of looking upon all sentient beings with love).
Not exactly. Some, many even, are actually gods, insofar as they've been reborn into Tushita or Sukhavati or other heavenly realms. They're somewhere between gods and saints. Or rather, they're gods because they're saints.
@@SonofSethoitae So, not a god, but higher than saints.
godly saint?
@@maiyenish8552 Strictly speaking, higher than a god too, but yes, essentially
@@SonofSethoitae *HIGHER* than a god? Then words need to be reversed:
saintly god
your humor is on point. Poets wrote of death, artists made paintings of hell and the movie hotaru no haka was created xDDDD
I laughed but only so I didn’t cry
Your ending…
“Ashubu blu ashu ablu blu.”
Was truly comforting for all impregnated men.
there is a couple of old Jizō just next to my parents house.
I was told it's technically not ours and it seemed the community members took care of it (cleaning, offering water etc).
never asked its origin but yeah, infant death was very real.
when I visited my family graves I found the names and ages of the deceased enclaved on the tombstone.
many kids in family died too young, and grandpa said it was like that everywhere back in the day.
I've been reading old population records for genealogy purposes and one family (here in central Finland) got stuck in my head for a long time..
The records were from early 1800s and total, that couple gave birth to 14 children but only 6 of them lived past ~seven years of age. They give the same name for 3 of their sons, a name they clearly wanted for the oldest son but the infants/toddlers kept dying... Their 3rd eldest son lived to adulthood.
In 1800s/early 1900s there ravaged many infectious diseases (like Scarlet Fever and Tb) across Finland and many small children died because there were no cure or vaccine for those diseases yet.
There are so many small graves in old cemeteries up here with birth/death dates that differ only couple of years or even months.
Especially from around y.1900 to 1910
It is amazing how cutthroat of a religion Buddhism can often be.
It doesn't seem like the normal rules for reincarnation (which unfortunately have been used to explain and justify people having unfortunate lives, mental infirmities or even physical deformities) apply to babies who die in childbirth or even kids who die young.
It seems as if they are automatically punished for dying young.
The only sense that I can make of it is that maybe the parents would have been counting on their kids to grow up and take care of them when they were elderly.
Basically, the only retirement plan that existed before social security.
By a child dying, it would seem that the kid failed to honor its parents by failing to provide them with a comfortable or at least stable life in old age.
Basically, the death of the kid would mean that the kid was dishonoring its family, even if it was not intentional.
That's the only sense that I can make of it, anyway.
Edit: I was mistaken in applying this belief in "baby Hell" to Buddhism overall, given that it's a Japanese take that doesn't fit within the original, unadulterated Buddhist scriptures.
However, my belief in the unfairness of ascribing lives spent in misery and misfortune to Karma from a past existence stands.
Yeah, it's a surprisingly hardcore religion. Before I started learning about it, I always imagined Buddhists as just a bunch of mountain-hippy philosophers that practiced chemistry and did cool martial arts. Ah well, I guess no faith is without it's harsher elements.
Gotta make a living off dying, you know.
@@Daniel_Lancelin I mean, at least budhist are based of truth and wisdom, instead of other religion which story seems like there hiding the truth from people, I mean, how are you gonna develop if you are trapped in a cycle based on lie , stupidity and ignorance?
@@w.dgaster6386 Oh, I wasn't trying to condescend their beliefs or anything like that, I was just saying that I was surprised by how harsh some of it is. My mental image of it was always the kindly old Tibetan guy who lives in a monastery, not the *_Ikkō-shu warrior-monks_* or something lol. I've been researching it more lately as part of my studies on Japan, and it's very interesting to see how their traditions and beliefs changed across cultures.
@@w.dgaster6386 But why do you think that Buddhism is based off of wisdom and truth?
Jeez, it’s not fair that Japanese lore has so much material for amazing animated films. Honestly, what the heck.
lol I'm sure interesting material exists in all cultures :p
@@Linfamy True
@@Linfamy America?
many countries in Europe sadly lost their original old beliefs and lore due to aggressive Christianson. I'm sure if a time traveler could research it, most nation's traditions would be just as interesting and varied!
@@Unchiat2am Yes.
I never knew about the history of the jizo statues....it's sad yet cute but sad.
A recurring theme in Japanese culture...
When bhuddahood calls but you're too busy with brohood
I feel like I see less and less jizo around my hometown now compared to when I was a child. I wonder if jizo isn’t being made as much as before.
Do you feel that it is because the birth rate has dropped and raising children isn't considered such an essential part of life or do you think that Japan has become too secular for these statues?
@@bigfotpeesonyoutube9647 the second one seems more likely to be the reason.
@@aolanikunisan If you don't mind me asking, do you come from a large or small town?
@@bigfotpeesonyoutube9647 I mean, child mortality is also way less compared to the early 20th century. Less kids are being born but of those kids, even less are dying in childhood. Japan has around 2 deaths per 1000 live births compared to 75 deaths per 1000 in 1970
@@emilybarclay8831 So you believe that these statues would be seen as quaint nowadays since infant mortality is so low and people are less likely to need to find solace in the loss of a child?
In the game Okami, you can find a lot of these scattered throughout. Over time you can visit a pottery maker who will give you a new vase and flowers, where you can offer them to the little statues. Makes sense as the character you play as is Amaterasu, “The Mother to us all”.
These mythology/folk religion videos are always some of my favorites. Would be neat to see a video about Kangiten, who is basically Ganesha from Hinduism but heavily altered for Japanese Buddhist tastes. One of the wildest parts is that temples with Kangiten statues keep them in locked boxes that must never be opened, and despite the secrecy he still has a strong following among laypeople.
I saw a bunch of this statues in Ghost of Tsushima: I always wondered what they represented!
Great game!
@@Linfamy Absolutely!
I spent so much time with the exploration and the photo-mode.
It's almost impossible not to get immersed in the game's environment and story. 💙
@@claudy_sky My desktop wallpaper library is a copy of my son's Ghost of Tsushima photos.
@@Linfamy please do one on east asian warfare ,how did east Asian societies train for it ,martial arts origin and weapons ,how were pre war rituals eyc
I see that the comments theme is "where did you first see/hear of jizō statues? " and in my case it was a book: The Woman in the White Kimono - Ana Johns. If you like historical novels i recommend it.
I'm writing this down. Thank you!
Mine was Captain Kurotsuchi's Bankai in bleach as its name is Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō. Its quite disturbing...
Mine was a video game that came out over a year after this comment: Like A Dragon: Ishin.
Those poor Bebes, guilty of....well....dying young, that is so F'd up. But this was really interesting and cool. I always wondered about this statues.
Carried over karma from a previous life I suppose? It would be interesting to hear a master talk about this. I don’t think this exists in other branches of Buddhism.
Then go knocking their stone piles down, well just because life's a bitch no matter where. Nothing wrong with that thought process. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I adore the way you say "beh beh" 😄
I liken Boddhisattvas to Christian saints more than gods.
Though the Saints themselves were not uncommonly local gods and mythological figures turned into saints to encourage conversion among the locals.
In Christianity saints can't become god, to be granted sainthood by the Catholic church , have to preform a documented miracle. In Buddhism, the bodhisattva is choosing to not become a God to help people and is reincarnated to other bodies, continuing to live among the unenlightened. Doesn't feel similar to me
I had always heard of Jizo statues in connection to "kirisute gomen" so its cool to hear about the much broader story and much larger practice of the Jizo statues
I've not watched the video yet but Memoirs of a Geisha (the book, not the movie) makes mention of Mameha praying to jizo statues for the abortions she had to have or else she would've had to give up working (though the real geisha the whole book was greatly inspired by, Mineko Iwasaki, states that if it is a girl, there's a greater likelihood that the baby will be welcomed, as she can be trained up from the actual traditional age of three instead of later in life). I believe now, you cannot become a full-time geisha until you have graduated junior high, which in Japan is around the age of fifteen. The training of a geisha doesn't teach much of anything related to science, math, social studies, languages, etc, so to better connect with their customers, and for the sake of a girl choosing...or being forced to take a different career path, at least a junior high education is mandatory.
Sorry, that got totally off track, lol.
No, I'm glad to know it. It's really interesting.
I wanted to comment on this to let you know that I really appreciated your comment. I really loved that book and the history that came with it, but I had no actual useful comment so.... yeah.
>.>
That's the first thing I remembered about the jizō statues, too!
If y all think Japans population crisis is bad tier appearently S Korea drifts stright into literal extinction depression this might includes taiwan too but out of the trio the worst youthless decimation is in s korea
Aren’t both countries where, unless you’re fabulously wealthy, you need two incomes to support a family? It’s a bad situation to plunge a mother into. Only mothers who happen to work for a European/American firm tend to (not all, it depends on who the company picks or sends to run the overseas firm) be fortunate enough to have an employer willing to accommodate a pregnant woman.
@@darter9000 exactly! That as well as the marriage laws are quite literally a financial and psychological butcher sentence for the potentially former bachelors
South Korea is swimming in traditions, culture and laws that prevent anything getting better ever or at least for a veeeery long time, I hope people become happy, kind and prosperous :(
Are they also like those teddy shrines with candles you can find in Europe, mostly on roads and at rivers?
We set them up, when a kid dies there. I know a road which had 5 of them despite not being that crazy long. Even worse: this road is perfectly straight and broad enough that you could make evasive driving maneuvers without crashing into trees and yet, I once saw a car wreck on my way to work. Both front doors were open, the driver was gone, but the girl at his side remained hanging in the seatbelt. She was still a teen and dressed for party. She was clearly dead and what really hit me was the realisation that she must have died yesterday, or in the early morning and yet her corpse was still there at 8:00. Thus, hundreds must have drove past her and not informed authorities, nor did the driver... To add even further disrespect, no new cross was erected at the site of her demise, not even a candle put there...
The worst part was that the teen girl died without anyone to save her!
Japan: uses shrines and mementos to honor the dead
Thailand: makes magic amulets out of the ashes of the dead
"Telling mommy that daddy was wrestling with the babysitter"
It can be also the reason of their death :D
(Yeah I know see ya'll in hell)
LMAO 😭
Sometimes the babysitter asks for too much money and it's only natural that a firm spanking is the end result.
Wait, isn’t the babysitter a dude? Dunno, mommy might be super exited to hear the news.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jizo Bodhisattva: I guide others to a treasure I cannot possess.
“Oh god their turning their children into stone!”
I burst out laughing at that
In Victoria BC, there is a special garden where parents can put “spirit houses” for their lost babies from miscarriage or stillbirth. I have one for my twins, and one for my recent miscarriage. Due to covid I can’t visit (no border crossings) but I hope someone passes their stone house and leaves a small pebble or leaf or something
Yes! I've been waiting for a Jizo episode from you for quite a while!
"Evils of the cootch" 😂😂😂
Cool and easy to understand explanation on Bodhisattva. In Buddhism view Gods are still stuck in Samsara and very much attach to worldly things, Bodhisattvas are not. But other than that, function as their version of god in their own right.
AFAIK in Theravada, Bodhisattva refer to previous incarnations of the OG Buddha as it takes many many life times to reach enlightenment.
They do have concept of Arhat, however. Someone who already achieved Nirvana while still living. But unlike Bodhisattva, Arhat does not reincarnate to help other people but waiting for their karma to runs its course and escape Samsara when they die.
Watching again (and linking to a musical friend who asked what Jizo statues were).
This is really good content, Lin. It acts as a bridge between cultures, focusing on the syncretic elements, allowing us to look through different eyes, if only for a moment. +2 Internets.
1:00 - my new favourite way to describe a Bodhisattva, I'm a sucker for Guanyin.
Dear Linfamy Sir, do you think the Japanese people will ever overcome the stigma concerning Japanese orphans and children in the foster care system? If more people would be willing to adopt or at least give them homes, there would be a Lot Less Childless Households.
No.
Unless the family/kazoku registry system changes, social stygma will win.
Adult adoption still happens in some cases, but that is for heirloom purposes.
@@LathropLdST I'm actually very aware of these systems. I believe the entire system of family registry needs to be seriously reevaluated in order for the whole society to thrive.
Politicians and social workers are working on it, but it's an uphill battle. As you realize, we need reevaluation. I'd say we likely need to deploy healthcare workers and child development workers to document the damage being done as well as how much it costs to twist a few ankles and wrists towards reminding people that tradition can bankrupt a nation.
@@jamie1602 agreed... and that's a very thoughtful approach, to such a very complicated situation.
The desire to keep culture alive is completely understandable, but perhaps recognizing that any living culture must evolve to survive its own changing circumstances is what will actually keep it thriving.
@@darthtaiter It seems like the population crisis in Japan is very much related to several societal problems. Lack of adoption, xenophobia (the billionaire founder of Softbank might still not be a Japanese citizen (?) since his parents were from Korea), and sexism (the ridiculousness with Japanese royal women still not being able to inherit the throne so women get abused for not giving birth to boys)
Love these videos so much! Started looking into Koans from last video and they have been soo much fun
The story I'd heard was that it was specifically a single old hag whose name I can't remember who torments babies along the Sanzu river and I seem to remember her doing things too horrible for Linfamy to mention. I think I also remember Jizo (or a figure that was probably suppose to be Jizo) offer himself up as the subject of the hag's torment to free the babies.
". . . right below Krillin."
You rock.
Loved your sense of humor in this video! Liked
Thank you for the knowledge!!!🙏👍😷
I first encountered these statues in the game Okami. They were beautiful even then, without really knowing what they represented.
Thankyou for saying it 🤗❤️ you bring happiness to the world
Great video as always!!!
... and pepperoni.
One of your really good videos with all the toppings. Sure to please! Nice work, as always Lin.
😉👍
Oh, this explains the Japanese Barcode Battler II card, "Chiezo", which depicts a statue which can tell the player where to find one of the missing keys.
Just in time for Spooktomber.
Not really that spooky but I think you will grace us with a truly spooky story 😊.
The toliet outside analogy is very good!
Oh Buddha! "Grave Of The Fireflies"......my heart ❤️ breaks 💔 every time I hear that name. Such an amazing cathartic journey of a film
This was funny AND sweet. Love the ending!
Wait--so if the bebe makes enough stone statues s/he'll be guided across the river by Jizō? What do the towers represent? How is building them an act of repentance?
It represents the virtue for their parents which haven't done when alive.
Well, there is no source in the Buddhist scriptures, but it is just a folk belief.
I just spit out my coffee laughing at that Boddhisatva holding it in.
Interesting stuff, Jizo sounds great.
I remember getting a recommendated reel on Instagram that was an American girl taking a picture of the "cute little statues in adorable red bibs" at a Japanese cemetary...ooooffff
At least she wasn't touching them, stealing them or disrespecting them like some people do in bone sanctuaries or graveyards, did wish someone could tell her the cute dolls have a tragic reason to be there like road teddies, at least she'd grow from the discovery and learn if she's kind enough to listen
It's funny how the gaijin said that only Japan has a declining birthrate, but it's becoming a worldwide phenomenon. I'm waiting for their next projection on Japan.
it is everywhere, due to people having to spend more time working when young...but worse in japan than most other places. we'll be seeing more of it this century.
I wonder how monks reacted to Jizō getting so much support
He's getting women into religion. More people in religion=good for business.
Buddhism was already integrated with Shintoism in many areas, so unless they are a very strict sect, I think the belief in Jizo was naturally incorporated into Buddhism at that time.
So, babies can be taken under the age of seven but are blamed for causing pain, even though they were kidnapped? And, red is used to guard against impurities but menstrual blood, that is red, is impure. Contradictions, why?
I thought that when monks order pizzas they always want one with everything
I like the translation of bodhisattva being saints or minor gods. That seems to make more sense. I knew Jizo was the god of travelers and kids, so I made offerings when I saw a shrine when I was visiting. But the rest is all new to me. The crossing of the Sanzu River sounds just like the crossing of the River Styx in Greek mythology.
7:56 Freakin. A-dor-able. Can we make this a ring tone?
No! 😅
I remember seeing these while in Japan and wasn't sure what they were.
im wondering if youre ever gonna cover the revenge story of the soga brothers. i feel like the story would be so much fun told in your style
You ever hear a word so many times in succession that your brain starts to drift off? I swear at one point Jizō turned into Jesus in my mind and I did a double take.
I just realised, my mother has a small Jizo statue. Im currently crying
I find it horrible how some beliefs really think children end up in hell or limbo. Children are innocent beings free from sin. They're automatically sent to the highest level of heven.
Earlier today I went to a health store that sold books. As I walked to another area I felt something or someone looking at me but I could feel a happy and calm nature near me. I turn around and it was this little stone statue with a smile on its face and head tilted. But I decided to buy it. After I checked out the lady told me it was a jizo san statue. After doing research jizo was a amazing person. Guess that’s why I was attracted to the statue
Brazilian here; those stacks of stones are found in rivers, waterfalls, and basically any place considered 'spiritual' or 'sacred' here. I wonder if the lore behind it is similar to this one
Reviving the babies? Oh damn that’s even worse then hell having to build it over and over again and burn to death everytime too
I feel like u must do a video on Kannon now since u did one for jizo.
I'm gonna tell my kids they will have to swim across the river in hell if they draw on the walls. Great suggestion.
Yaya new vid
🎉🎉🎉
The anime Hozuki's coolheadedness makes so much sense now
5:20 Not so fast! little BRAT!
I'm DEAD... LOL!
Can you do a video about Touhou lores / characters? Is Gap-God Yukari actually a thing in Japanese mythology?
"that's what you get for telling mommy Allison" 🤣
What's the significance of the pinwheels by the statues?
My guess would be toys left for the children. I've seen pinwheels and teddies by children's graves in cemeteries.
@@klhaldane That makes a lot of sense!
0:16 I only did it twice. Why are you judging me? Sad noises.....
Wait babies are half spirits and it's ok to do infanticide but they're in trouble when they do cos they disappointed their parents??
Connecting the dots, I see :)
6:23 I was legitimately thinking “would it help the babies to knock them down?” I mean, if you knock the tower down, then they have to make more, meaning they have more potential merits to gain. So, would toppling the towers actually help them out? Or, is it measured by the towers still standing.
I have spent alot of time in Japan and I studied the culture ( I asked alot of questions to the locals I often hung out with ) it is very secular but the culture merged with their beliefs into a custom more than a religious practice, alot like modern Christmas is for alot of people including Japan ( they love KFC ) but it's a family/ dating day.
I saw about this afterlife stage in Saint Seiya.
The ablublublublu part... I felt that.
So basically they are comparable to being Saints.
Like that was a weird and long explanation
So this is the context/partial inspiration for Mayuri Kurotsuchi's Bankai And its name,Konjiki Ashisogi Jizō, from Bleach. Kinda makes it more disturbing...
Yup. Sadly, the author didn't even make a slight mention of it (a slight trivia would've been nice but that's just me).
Anyways...
Me: *BANKAI...*
Do you know the snow Jizo story? I love that story.
I love your channel😭😭😭
I love your comment 😭😭😭
I was hoping that you would take about the connection between the Great King Enma and Jizo as it is something i am very curious about
What's supposed to happen when you knock over those stone stacks?
Also, why do anime depict either 2, 4, or 6 rings on that staff?
I bought one of these today to give to my son.... 😔
Isn't there like a story about a man that trades his wares for Seven hats. On his way back he finds Seven statues that are Being snowed on. He feels sorry for them and gives them the hats. The next morning he finds fine wares in front of his house and Seven dragmarks
5:31 that caught me off guard
Selfish Souls: Bebes Die Twice is the next game by FromSoftware. You heard it on this channel first.
Mappo vs mapo tofu
Ima have to go with the latter.
At 7:20 to what you were doing that quote about selling that item..
What if the guys doing the torturing is actually these guys.
Because he said "buy this or else"
4:15 Adowable
Totes.
Have you made a video about My Neighbor Totoro and the theories about the Jizo statues? I feel like you have but I can’t find it 👀
"ablublublublublu
, awuzhu-wuzhu-wuzhu-wushu" LINFAMY 2021
“...Right below Krillin,” *sent* me
For the red bibs or clothes, in Taiwan I saw some of those lion statues with red clothes on them. And kids in Chinese culture always wear those bib things. almost like what Chihiro wore in spirited away.