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Lafcadio Hearn - Glimpses of an Unfamiliar Japan, 1
extent, successful prior to the disestablishment of Buddhism and the revival of Shinto as the State
religion. But in Izumo, and other parts of western Japan, Shinto has always remained dominant, and has
even appropriated and amalgamated much belonging to Buddhism.
7 In Sanscrit 'Hariti' - Karitei-Bo is the Japanese name for one form of Kishibojin.
Notes for Chapter Five
1 It is related in the same book that Ananda having asked the Buddha how came Mokenren's mother to
suffer in the Gakido, the Teacher replied that in a previous incarnation she had refused, through cupidity,
to feed certain visiting priests.
2 A deity of good fortune
Notes for Chapter Six
1 The period in which only deities existed.
2 Hyakusho, a peasant, husbandman. The two Chinese characters forming the word signify respectively,
'a hundred' (hyaku), and 'family name' (sei). One might be tempted to infer that the appellation is almost
equivalent to our phrase, 'their name is legion.' And a Japanese friend assures me that the inference
would not be far wrong. Anciently the peasants had no family name; each was known by his personal
appellation, coupled with the name of his lord as possessor or ruler. Thus a hundred peasants on one
estate would all be known by the name of their master.
3 This custom of praying for the souls of animals is by no means general. But I have seen in the western
provinces several burials of domestic animals at which such prayers were said. After the earth was filled
in, some incense-rods were lighted above the grave in each instance, and the prayers were repeated in a
whisper. A friend in the capital sends me the following curious information: 'At the Eko-in temple in
Tokyo prayers are offered up every morning for the souls of certain animals whose ihai [mortuary
tablets] are preserved in the building. A fee of thirty sen will procure burial in the temple-ground and a
short service for any small domestic pet.' Doubtless similar temples exist elsewhere. Certainly no one
capable of affection for our dumb friends and servants can mock these gentle customs.
4 Why six Jizo instead of five or three or any other number, the reader may ask. I myself asked the
question many times before receiving any satisfactory reply. Perhaps the following legend affords the
most satisfactory explanation:
According to the Book Taijo-Hoshi-mingyo-nenbutsu-den, Jizo-Bosatsu was a woman ten thousand ko
(kalpas) before this era, and became filled with desire to convert all living beings of the Six Worlds and
the Four Births. And by virtue of the Supernatural Powers she multiplied herself and simultaneously
appeared in all the Rokussho or Six States of Sentient Existence at once, namely in the Jigoku, Gaki,
Chikusho, Shura, Ningen, Tenjo, and converted the dwellers thereof. (A friend insists that in order to
have done this Jizo must first have become a man.)
Among the many names of Jizo, such as 'The Never Slumbering,' 'The Dragon-Praiser,' 'The Shining
King,' 'Diamond-of-Pity,' I find the significant appellation of 'The Countless Bodied.'
5 Since this sketch was written, I have seen the Bon-odori in many different parts of Japan; but I have
never witnessed exactly the same kind of dance. Indeed, I would judge from my experiences in Izumo, in
Oki, in Tottori, in Hoki, in Bingo, and elsewhere, that the Bonodori is not danced in the same way in any
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