Umeda Kitamuki Jizo

The Umeda area of Osaka City is a bustling labyrinth of transport hubs, shopping malls and office buildings, but folk traditions can be found even in such metropolitan districts.

One izakaya-filled passageway off Umeda Station is named Jizō Yokochō, and sure enough, it is home to a small shrine dedicated to Jizō (Ksitigarbha), one of the most popular Buddhist entities in Japan. Though Ksitigarbha statues are pretty much ubiquitous, Umeda happens to be home to one facing north, a very rare specimen.

In feng shui, north is often considered an unlucky direction, and a majority of shrines and temples avoid facing it. But then there’s the Kitamuki (“north-facing”) Jizō of Umeda. What’s up with that?

While the exact reason is unclear, it is believed that the statue stands this way so that Ksitigarbha may cover all directions. The deliverer of lost souls, Ksitigarbha is widely worshipped as mankind’s kindly savior, so this seems to be a good theory.

The history of the particular statue is also interesting, as its origin is also unknown. It was unearthed by a local farmer in 1891, long before the area became what it is today, possibly once part of some local cemetery. The shrine has since been relocated a few times, not quite forgotten; it continues to see many visitors to this day.