We carry your prayers for a child's growth, for mizuko, and for your ancestors upon the sacred fire of the goma. You can apply online.
Next service
September 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Prayer offering 500 yen per wish
From 8:00 PM
The 24th each month Kṣitigarbha Homa
The 24th is the feast day (ennichi) of Kṣitigarbha. At Byōdōji, we perform the goma before the image of Jizō from 8:00 PM on the 24th of every month.
Kṣitigarbha is the bodhisattva who vowed to save all the lost and suffering beings during the buddha-less age, the time between the passing of Śākyamuni and the coming of Maitreya into the world. He has long been beloved as the buddha who guides the departed and watches over children.
To draw out suffering and lead the departed toward an affinity with the Buddha. We pray by joining the earth-like working of Jizō to the sacred fire of the goma.
From home, you can submit your name and your wish. We read them aloud and offer the prayer during the ritual, and you can also join remotely through the live stream.
The Kṣitigarbha Homa is a prayer in which, through the goma performed before the image of Jizō, we hold a memorial for the departed and offer prayers to watch over our children.
The goma is a Shingon prayer rite in which the wisdom-fire is kindled in the homa hearth and pieces of homa wood are cast one by one into the flames, chanting mantras as the rite is performed. We read aloud the name and wish of each petitioner and hold each one to the flames as we pray.
Kṣitigarbha is the bodhisattva who vowed to save every suffering being without leaving a single one behind. Looking up to his earth-like great compassion, we pray for our children's growth and for the memorial of the departed.
The Jizō at Byōdōji is a bronze seated image, cast around 1750 through the donations of the people of Tsuyama in Okayama. He holds a monk's staff in his right hand and a wish-fulfilling jewel in his left, seated upon a lotus pedestal.
The monthly goma on the 24th is performed before this image of Jizō.
The 24th is the feast day of Kṣitigarbha. It has been a fixed day since the Heian period, and the 24th of the first month in particular is called the "first Jizō" (hatsu-jizō). Jizō statues and Jizō halls across the land hold feast-day observances and rituals on the 24th of each month.
At Byōdōji, in keeping with this feast day of Jizō, we perform the Kṣitigarbha Homa on the 24th of every month.
Jizō is the bodhisattva who vowed that only after he has finished saving all suffering beings will he himself, last of all, become a buddha.
The root scripture of Kṣitigarbha, the *Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva*, sets forth the vow that Jizō made before the Buddha in a past life.
我今盡未來際、不可計劫、為是罪苦六道衆生、廣設方便、盡令解脱、而我自身、方成佛道。
The original vow to save all beings who wander and suffer in a buddha-less age. He guides the departed toward an affinity with the Buddha.
The *Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva* teaches that when the bereaved cultivate good for the sake of the departed, that merit reaches both the departed and the living.
He has long been beloved as the buddha who protects young children and watches over their healthy growth.
oṃ ha ha ha vismaye svāhā
oṃ ha ha ha vismaye svāhā
"Ha ha ha" is the voice that praises the virtue of Jizō, and "vismaye" is said to mean "how wondrous." It is a mantra that praises the great compassion of Jizō and prays for his salvation. It is based on the mantra of Kṣitigarbha transmitted in the ritual manuals of the Mahāvairocana lineage.
Along with your prayer request, you can receive items matched to the honzon of this service.
Apply for one prayer and one item together.
Apply for one prayer and one item together.
Apply for one prayer and one item together.
Items are delivered after the prayer service. You can change the wish and quantity on the application screen.
On the night of the 24th each month, before the image of Jizō, we perform the goma in the following way.
STEP 1
Online or at the sutra office, please write your name and your wish and present your offering. You may also write the names of departed loved ones and of your children.
STEP 2
The officiant forms the mudrās before the image of Jizō and, chanting the mantras, kindles the wisdom-fire in the homa hearth.
STEP 3
The pieces of homa wood inscribed with wishes are cast into the flames one by one. We read aloud each name and wish and convey them to Jizō.
STEP 4
We transfer the power of the homa toward the memorial of the departed and the growth of children. Those joining remotely can see their prayer card appear on the screen and be drawn into the Buddha.
The *Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva* teaches that the merit of the memorial offered for the departed returns not only to the departed but also to the one who offers it. A prayer that thinks of the departed is also a prayer that sustains those living now.
To the Kṣitigarbha Homa you may entrust many kinds of prayers, prayers that think of your children and of the departed.
For those who wish for the health and healthy growth of their children and grandchildren.
For those who wish to entrust to Jizō a child who could not be born, and to hold a memorial for them.
For those who wish for the peace of their ancestors and of cherished departed loved ones.
For those who wish for the safety of a new life and for the blessing of a child.
The mizuko memorial is not directly described in the *Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva*. It is a form of memorial that has been handed down in Japan, extending to children and the unborn the heart of the sutra, which holds a memorial for the departed and draws out their suffering.
You can apply at the sutra office or online. Even when you apply online, we read your name and wish aloud and offer the prayer at Byōdōji, and you can join the ritual through the stream.
The 24th each month, 8:00 PM / Now accepting
Performed on the night of the Jizō feast day, before the image of Jizō, who saves the beings of the six realms.
On the application form you can select "Kṣitigarbha Homa." You may also apply for multiple homa or for prayers over a set period (half a year or a year).
We also accept the annual prayer, in which your name is read aloud and prayed over at the Kṣitigarbha Homa on the 24th of every month for a full year. On the application form, select "12" months for the period.
Compare Byodoji's five monthly Goma rites by wish, including prayers for healing, protection from misfortune, work, and memorial services.
Choose from five Goma rites by your wishWe answer the questions we are often asked about applying for the Kṣitigarbha Homa.
Yes. Anyone may apply, regardless of religion or sect.
Yes. Jizō has long been revered in connection with the mizuko memorial as the buddha who watches over children who died young. Please note this in your wish.
Yes. If you write the names of the departed, we will read them aloud at the homa and hold a memorial. The *Sutra of the Original Vows of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva* teaches that the bereaved's memorial benefits the departed.
Yes. We accept the annual prayer, in which your name is read aloud at the homa on the 24th of each month for a full year. Please select the period on the application form.
Yes. The homa from 8:00 PM on the 24th each month can be viewed via live stream. From home, through the stream, you can join your hands before the sacred fire of the homa.
Jizō is the buddha who stands beside those who suffer, guides the departed, and watches over young children. The sacred fire of the homa on the 24th of each month is there so that we may look up, here and now, to the working of that great compassion.
To those who wish for a child's growth and to those who wish to hold a memorial for the departed, we offer the Kṣitigarbha Homa on the 24th of every month. We pray sincerely for the peace of all of you and of those with whom you share an affinity.
