American Zen priest promotes Jizo project for Hiroshima, Nagasaki

American Zen priest promotes Jizo project for Hiroshima, Nagasaki

KYOTO, Japan - Jan Chozen Bays (R), an American Zen master, speaks with reporters at a Kyoto hotel on Aug. 4. She called for people to join a project to make some 270,000 statues and written images of Jizo Bodhisattva to represent the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and promote world peace. Bays said she came up with the idea when she visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki two years ago. Jizo Bodhisattva is the guardian of deceased children, expectant mothers, firemen, travelers, and pilgrims.

U.S. Zen priest calls to prepare 300,000 Jizos for A-bomb victims

U.S. Zen priest calls to prepare 300,000 Jizos for A-bomb victims

NAGASAKI, Japan - Jan Chozen Bays (R) an American Zen priest, speaks at a news conference in Nagasaki on May 13. Bays is seeking to gather about 300,000 handmade images and statues of Jizo, one of the most beloved divinities in Japan, by summer 2005 in memory of every victim of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

American Zen priest promotes Jizo project for Hiroshima, Nagasak

American Zen priest promotes Jizo project for Hiroshima, Nagasak

KYOTO, Japan - Jan Chozen Bays (R), an American Zen master, speaks with reporters at a Kyoto hotel on Aug. 4. She called for people to join a project to make some 270,000 statues and written images of Jizo Bodhisattva to represent the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and promote world peace. Bays said she came up with the idea when she visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki two years ago. Jizo Bodhisattva is the guardian of deceased children, expectant mothers, firemen, travelers, and pilgrims. (Kyodo)

U.S. Zen priest calls to prepare 300,000 Jizos for A-bomb victim

U.S. Zen priest calls to prepare 300,000 Jizos for A-bomb victim

NAGASAKI, Japan - Jan Chozen Bays (R) an American Zen priest, speaks at a news conference in Nagasaki on May 13. Bays is seeking to gather about 300,000 handmade images and statues of Jizo, one of the most beloved divinities in Japan, by summer 2005 in memory of every victim of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Kyodo)