Jizo Bodhisattva

Standing 136 centimeters tall and carved from a single block of camphor, this 10th-century statue of Jizo Bodhisattva is one of the older sculptural works in Fukuoka's temple circuit. Jizo works to ease suffering in the underworld and serves as protector of children, mothers, and travelers, and the figure here holds a hoju, the wish-fulfilling jewel that symbolizes the bodhisattva's desire to extend blessings widely. The graceful, simply rendered robes and the halo around the shaved head are characteristic of how Jizo appears across Japan, and this example conveys a quiet dignity that rewards a slow look.