Hello! Nice to meet you again!
It is the blog How Unique Japan. We are excited to showcase the unique aspects of our country through this website!
This time, we would like to ask you.
Do you know how many Buddha statues there are in Japan? We think you do not because numerous statues exist everywhere, especially in temples. We Japanese are also unable to count them.
It is true. Over 130 statues are national treasures. Besides, there are still uncountable statues—for example, one famous temple in Kyoto has over 1000 statues within its area!
Why are there so many?
The answer is similar to the cause of other religions. It is a “Big anxiety for living.”
Next, we will write about the meaning and how many kinds of statues/gods.
The reason of the statues
The answer is simple.
We always live with anxiety. Sometimes, issues arise from money, financial challenges, friendships, or health. Consequently, the Japanese created gods to address each of these problems. When someone had trouble with his business, he used to pray to the god concerned with money or good luck. It is one example.
That is why there are several gods with statues born in Japan.
However, it is not chaotic. All gods are well organized by a hierarchy separated into four ranks. Thus, we can specialize each god from Buddhism with the rank and the Buddha statues referred from that.
Please look at the details following.
1st Nyorai
It is the top of the hierarchy for those who reached enlightenment. They are like the Buddhist founder, Gautama Siddhartha.
In Buddhism, it is the ultimate ideal and goal that everyone (especially Buddhists) follows.
The representative one is Amida Nyorai.
It has the strangest light power that shines on any living creature and saves. The power would even affect guilty people. So, it also saves the bad people.
Some statues are, as a result, quite large. However, that one would be famous among the Japanese. Look at the picture.
That statue is in the Kamakura area. Its height is 13.35m, and weight is 121t. (!!!)
Indeed, it is incredible. But the most impressive fact is its age—it was created in 1252!
By the way, some attentive readers may have noticed the statue signaling. The form of hands means the wisdom of all. It is not for making shadow clones or fireballs.
2nd Bosatsu
It is the second highest rank in the hierarchy. That means they are still in training to be Nyorai. Thus, they must help the people reach enlightenment, although they are not yet.
Therefore, the Bosatus also means who helps others by sacrificing themself.
The most famous one should be the Senzyu (it means thousand of hands) Kannon Bosatsu.
As you can see in the picture, it seems to have one thousand hands.
However, the god only has forty-two hands. What does it mean?
The answer is concerned with mathematics from the perspective of the religion Buddhism.
In Buddhism, it separates the world into 25th levels between heaven and hell. The Bosatsu can save the suffering of the people living in such all-separated worlds with one hand.
That means 25 times 40th hands (two hands holding a sign around its chest are exceptions). Do you get it? So, it leads to one thousand. It is the meaning of this statue.
Besides, one thousand also means infinity in Buddhism. Thus, those statues express the infinite love to save all people in any world from suffering.
3rd Myohou
It is in the third rank in the hierarchy. The difference with the other statues/gods is the scarring face. So, they are in WARTH.
This is due to their role in the religion. They are protectors of Buddhism. So, they always keep bad luck or disasters (or another religion conquering) away from us. Besides, they can help us from hesitation.
That is the reason they keep their faces in anger.
The most famous Myohou, Hudou Myohou, usually has an angry face. They sometimes stump on monsters in the underparts of statues.
One more. There is another feature in the Myohou appearance. He has a sword in his right hand and a rope in his left hand. That look makes it more scary.
Both tools are not for hurting others or for use in warfare. The sword cuts down earthly desires and (bad) karma, and the rope in the left hand saves people from the deep and nasty sea of wild desires.
So, the Myohou is more kind than its face (looking). Thus, some people say the face is similar to the face of mothers when they get angry at their children.
4th Ten
They are positioned fourth from the top. This rank is a little complicated because Buddhism observed several gods from the ancient Indian religion in this rank, and they became protectors of Buddhism. So, there are plenty of gods.
Besides, Ten also means the rank (world) itself. It is another world that is ranked higher spiritually, like heaven.
So, who is the famous one in this rank? It is perplexing by the number. But, if we say this name, Daikoku Ten, will be one of them.
His origins trace back to a divine legend from ancient India. (over one or two thousand years ago). He influenced other countries and traveled through China, Korea, and Japan.
During his journey, people observed his character in their folklore or religion. So, he changed his form with each story.
In Japan, statues or drawings express him with some items. He has a gavel in his right hand and carries a big bag like Mr. Santa Claus.
Sometimes, he also sits down on the rice barrels. As his appearance says, he is the idol of wealth. The barrels mean the outcome of the harvest.
Besides, the gavel is a magical item that would give us anything we want. Finally, the bag contains the treasures of humanity. They are about lifespan, good relationships, or the amount of positive things.
To close
We have shown you just a few examples of Buddha statues. As it said, there is also an uncountable number around Japan.
Trust us. Each one should be different. What unique!
If you want more articles on this site, please visit the front page of this blog. Our blog has more unique information about Japan, including tips for the question. Moreover, it also has articles about the Edo era, Japanese food, lifestyle, and religions.
OK! It is all for this time! Thank you very much for reading this article.
See you for the next uniqueness in Japan!