This illustrated scroll recounts the origins of Jizō Bosatsu (Skt. Kṣitigarbha) that is the principal worship object of Kongōsenji Temple (usually called Yatadera) in Yamato Kōriyama, Nara. The majority of the scroll is devoted to episodes of Jizō saving those who have fallen into various Buddhist hells or who were reborn in the realms of hungry ghosts and beasts. It also expounds the benefits of making pilgrimage to Yatadera Temple.
Object label
This illustrated scroll recounts the legends and miracles associated with the Jizō (Skt. Kṣitigarbha) enshrined as the principal object of worship at Kongōsenji Temple in Nara (usually referred to as Yatadera). Yatadera Jizō comes to the rescue of all sentient beings, even those so unfortunate as to end up in the Buddhist hells. One only has to pay this powerfully efficacious deity a monthly pilgrimage to earn its protection.
KITAZAWA NatsukiEnglish by Mary Lewine
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.337, no.163.