About Japan, juzu

Juzu

Juzu is a kind of Buddhist altar fittings and implements used in worship. Buddhist prays to Buddha by joining his palms, having Juzu in his hand. Some Buddhist use Juzu to count how many they have chanted a Mantra.

Buddhism was introduced into Japan at B.C. 552. At that time, Juzu was also introduced into Japan. Since then Buddhism has been separated into several denominations. Though nowadays there are five denominations roughly, Juzu is the necessary article at any denomination.

The shape of Juzu is the ring shape formed from many beads linked together with a string. Though formally the numbers of bead are 108, recently its numbers have been simplified because of handling easily.

The most simplified one is wrist Juzu. There are two types in wrist Juzu. One type has tassels and the other has no tassel.

Beads of Juzu are made from wood or stone.
The kinds of wood for beads are ebony, rosewood, sandalwood, boxwood,
Japanese apricot and the nut of linden tree.
The kinds of stone for beads are crystal, agate, jade and coral.