The Meiji Era Anti-Buddhist Movement as Seen from the Removal and Destruction of Jizō Statuary

Abstract

In the early stages of the Meiji era, Buddhist statues, such as those of Jizō (Ksitigarbha), were removed or destroyed. In this paper, I focus on specific localities and analyze the reasons for the removal or destruction of these Buddhist statues.

In three areas (Kyoto, Osaka, and Shiga Prefecture), statues of Jizō―all of which were located on roadsides―were removed as part of the so-called “civilization policy.” However, perhaps due to this “civilization policy,” in all of these three areas Jizō statues were re-installed in the mid-Meiji era.

In Kaga-han and Toyama-han the separation of Shinto-Buddhist-deities was originally enacted without trouble. Subsequently, in Toyama-han the reduction of temples was undertaken as part of economic policy and Buddhist statues were melted down. For the purpose of securing sources of water, Ishikawa Prefecture―Kaga-han's successor―removed Buddhist statues from Mt. Hakusan and also destroyed a number of them.

In Tokyo's Mikurajima, an area grounded in Shinto, Buddhist temples were abolished and statues of Jizō were destroyed.

There were two reasons that Buddhist statues were removed or destroyed in the early stages of the Meiji era. One was the aforementioned “civilization policy” and another was the Shinto-based anti-Buddhist movement.