Rokujizo Park

The modestly sized, hilltop Rokujizo Park is named for the six statues of the bodhisattva Jizo standing within it. The park is also designated as offering one of the “100 Famous Views of Mount Fuji”: the country’s most revered mountain, 27.5 kilometers to the south, is foregrounded by the effigies.

Step back a little further and this iconic sight becomes more stirring still: the branches of a single cherry tree frame the view, imbuing the scene with a delicate, transient beauty in spring’s full bloom and a poignant starkness through the colder months.

The six Jizo figures have special significance. Such statues are often stood alone at the roadside to guide travelers safely on their way. The roku-jizo (six Jizo) of this park, however, point the way on a spiritual journey. They act as guides through the realms one must travel in order to reach enlightened Buddhahood: those of hell, the hungry ghost, the animal realm, carnage, the human realm, and finally heaven. The six Jizo stand with hands forever clasped in prayer, overlooked by a single temple bell on a nearby slope.

According to legend, the night of July 26 according to the traditional Japanese lunar calendar (this date varies on the present-day calendar) sees the moon above Rokujizo Park appear as if torn into three pieces.