shinagawa jizo 品川の地蔵 (shinagawa, japan)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 9 March 2009 in Lifestyle & Culture.

Why do jizos wear red aprons and other garments? It seems there are some rather strange answers if you research this question in English (e.g., "because red is a lucky color"--which, if I'm not mistaken, is more Chinese than Japanese). Searching in Japanese, however, yields an interesting surprise: many Japanese ask the same question!
Nevertheless, after quite some time I happened upon an answer with enough consistency that it seems proper.
First, we must consider what jizos really are: the guardian protectors of children. It seems that a long time ago in Japanese culture, people had believed that certain diseases were the work of two gods: Yakubyo-gami (疫病神; literally, "epidemic god") and Hoso-gami (疱瘡神; literally, "smallpox god"). It was said that (for a reason I cannot discern) these gods--and Hoso-gami in particular--liked neither dogs nor the color red. As a result, people would make figures out of clay or papier-mâché, dress them with red garments, and use these as a kind of talisman to ward off those spirits that would bring illness.
As smallpox is a childhood disease, and as jizos are the protectors of children, people naturally dressed jizos in red (red caps, aprons, etc.) as a means to keep the jizos safe from harm.

Sources: Wikipedia (JP) >>
2Channel (Via Unkar) (JP) >>

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