It seems that three of the stone Buddhist statues at Shukugawa’s Enmei Jizo-son will undergo a “closing-eye” memorial service (to remove the spirit) in August 2021.
(This information was provided by Ame ni Yuyake. Thank you!)
The ones that will undergo the closing-eye memorial service are the three stone Buddhas on the right. The Jizo statue on the left will continue watching over everyone in the community as always.
Shukugawa Enmei Jizo is located here↓↓
The address is 1-36 Hagoromocho, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
The notice↓↓
According to what Nishi2 looked up about Shukugawa Jizo-son(summarized briefly, with some parts omitted)
- A long time ago, the Great Hanshin Flood occurred
- Several girls were miraculously saved near the Jizo statue
- As thanks for saving the life of his child, Mr. Maeda took in the Jizo statue
- Because Mr. Maeda moved to Tokyo, the Jizo statue also moved to Tokyo with him
- As Mr. Maeda grew older, he became unable to care for the Jizo statue
- He consulted Ontake Shrine in Ota Ward, Tokyo, his local tutelary shrine
- The priest of Ontake Shrine, who received the consultation, took in the Jizo statue
- Today it is enshrined at Ontake Shrine as “Enmei Jizo-son.”
We could not find out exactly how the three stone Buddhist statues came to be enshrined in Shukugawa.
In any case, it feels like a moment to say, “Thank you for watching over us all this time.”
Finally
When passing in front of Shukugawa Enmei Jizo-son, you often see local people putting their hands together in prayer.
The reader who provided the information said they had made it a habit to chant the Heart Sutra here at the end of their jog, and that they felt sad about this.
The Jizo statue on the left will continue to be cared for as “Shukugawa Enmei Jizo” by the volunteer caretakers of Shukugawa Enmei Jizo, just as before, so many people may feel reassured by that.
Ame ni Yuyake, thank you very much for the information!!
■■■Information wanted!■■■
