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In Usagi Yojimbo Book 8, following the conclusion to "Shades of Green," in which Usagi teams up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we were treated to a memorable back-up story entitled "Jizo." It impressed me as a moving short story, certainly, but there was also a historic and religious context that proved fascinating to me as well and I thought I'd take a few moments to reflect on it.
To briefly recap the tale, for anyone that may be new to it like me, the scene opens on what appears to be a beautiful country-side road. From the crowd of passers-by a woman emerges and places a mourning statue of Jizo Bosatsu near the road, across a grave marker, and there prays that Jizo (the popular patron saint of children and the weak, generally speaking) will mercifully watch over and protect the soul of her fallen child who in the afterlife will be required to pile stones on the bed of the Sanzu River (a mythical river not unlike others in other ancient mythologies incl. Greek and Egyptian traditions that the souls of the dead need cross before reaching the promises of the afterlife).
But here I had to pause a moment. Why would a fallen child have to spend time in the afterlife piling stones on the rivers bottom? I asked my girlfriend about it (who is Japanese) and she was able to relay a little bit of information on the matter. It was helpful and pointed me in the right direction but seeing as how I've got an insatiable appetite for this kind of stuff I had to find out more. In the process I was able to turn up that the act undertaken by the souls of these children comes from the prominent Japanese belief that a child who died prematurely, or before their parents, was to pile stones on the Sanzu River bed as both an act of penance and to allow themselves the opportunity of building up good deeds prior to crossing the Sanzu themselves. They did so by building stone altars to offer prayers to Buddha for his compassion. But demons from the underworld would hound the souls of the children, knock down the stones, and seek to harm them. It was then that Jizo, a bodhisattva, would intervene to protect the children. He offered them sanctuary, words of wisdom, and eventually a compassionate release from their chore so that eventually, they'd be able to cross the Sanzu and journey on to the afterlife promised to the faithful. Additionally, according to the tradition it is common for travelers to take mercy upon these children as they spot Jizo on the roadside, thereby placing stones near the statue to ease the burden of the children working. Now, granted, as a Christian I have very different beliefs about the afterlife, and certainly about the fate of children who die prematurely, but I can appreciate the compassion that Jizo represents in the Japanese belief system here and, among other things, I am grateful that it translates into compassionate service from those that pass by these statues, even today.
But to get back to Stan's Usagi tale, the grieving mother offers her own pebble to help ease the suffering of her child and prays that others passing by will find the compassion to do so as well. She leaves the statue, with hismournful expression, in the cold promising to bring a coat to warm him the following day (and perhaps as a way to help further shield her child as the tradition might suggest). But that dark night a long-eared traveler strides by the Jizo statue, only to find himself surrounded by bandits. Presumably, these are the same cowards that killed the nameless child who the mother mourns for and in making short work of the ruffians, as Usagi is so adept at doing, he turns to continue his trek leaving their lifeless bodies in his wake. The next day when the mother returns with a coat, surprised to find that the statues countenance has changed to one of peace. The child had been avenged by a sword of justice and as the scene closes on the story we see that the smiling statue indeed has rocks piled all around it.
It's very difficult to capture the feeling of everything that Stan was able to put into this, but the tale is a shining example of what Usagi Yojimbo offers its readers: poignant stories that go far beyond typical funny book fare to effect its audience. All presented in a masterful manner, utilizing a captivating setting, and a long-eared ronin and other anthropomorphic entities to tell riveting stories set deeply in historic and religious context.
Once again, this story hit home the wisdom that was so succinctly passed on by Edmund Burke:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
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:D:D:
