Juzu in medieval Japanese portraits

[gurdymonkey]

Upon further reflection and the dearth of information on historical juzu that I feel like I can take to the bank, I may have been premature in planning to make a short 27-bead juzu.

So far I have been unable to turn up any extant period juzu of any kind.

This portrait of the nun Eshinni clearly shows her holding a long juzu with end tassels, most likely one with the full 108 beads.
http://www.terakoya.com/hongwanji/rekidai/eshinni.jpg

My friend Tosenin is holding a juzu that also looks long enough to be a 108-bead juzu.
http://www.wodefordhall.com/tosenin.jpg

This one is a puzzler. Oinu appears to be holding beads in her hands, possibly a short juzu, possibly looped. Unfortunately, the image in the book is not very big and I haven't found it anywhere else.
http://www.wodefordhall.com/oinunokata.jpg

There are several additional portraits of women holding juzu in Japan's Golden Age: Momoyama and the 108-bead sets appear to be the norm.
http://books.google.com/books?id=l6z-BAf7UiwC&pg=PT79&lpg=PT79&dq=tenzuiin&source=bl&ots=7VZxgsdPMf&sig=lBy3Yc90oI_3RXuCklV2GjKktRU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPT84,M1

More as I learn it....

Comments

[bronx-baroness.livejournal.com]

Aren't these malas for counting the repetitions of mantras? Are these folks buddhist? I do have documentation for buddhist malas- which are identical to what is pictured. Or is juzu just Japanese for mala? Malas are as old as buddhism and have been in use for thousands of years.

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Past experience has taught me that once the Japanese adopted something imported from China, it would frequently follow its own evolutionary path. There are a number of sects of Japanese Buddhism, each with different emphases. While the juzu is a mala, there is at least one sect (Jodo Shinshu) that insists it is not for counting and simply wraps it around the hands during prayer as an aid to mindfulness of the Buddha.

Clearly, I have a great deal more study to do on this subject.

[bronx-baroness.livejournal.com]

Now there's something I didn't know! In some sects of buddhism, it is believed that you don't even have to *say* the mantra as you count the bead, the *intention* of the mantra is enough.

There is always SO much to learn! I'm doing a display of malas, tesbihs and rosaries at my Kingdom's Arts and Sciences festival in March and having to pare down my research into something readable and accessible to folks is driving me mad. And then there's the true knowledge that I haven't finished researching this topic and I probably never could!

Of we go lurching towards enlightenment.

[xrian.livejournal.com]

Let me look through my notes from the conference last spring. I haven't even looked at the Asian sections -- though there was quite a variety of levels of expertise among the speakers, so I can't guarantee all the information will be helpful.

Aha! (having taken five minutes to look at my notes...) I think I have the name of the researcher you should contact.... someone who sent his paper to the conference to be read by someone else, since he was in the process of moving from Europe to LA. I'll send it via e-mail.