The River of Dice - Sai no Kawara

A riverbank in the underworld where it is believed that children who die before their parents suffer. It is also called Saiin Riverbank. It is said that if a child tries to build a tower here by piling stones, a demon will come and destroy it, tormenting the child, but eventually Jizo Bodhisattva will appear and save the child. This situation was described in detail in the Jizo Wasan and Sai no Kawara Wasan, and spread among the people. Sai no Kawara has no source in the Buddhist scriptures and is thought to be a popular belief that arose in medieval Japan, but its origin is said to be based on a passage in the Lotus Sutra's Expedient Means Chapter, which explains that there is merit in a boy building a tower out of sand for fun. Regarding the name, there are various theories, including that it comes from the Sai River in Kyoto, an ancient burial ground, or the Sai River in Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture), and that it comes from a dice, which means border.

[Matsumoto Shiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

親に先だって死んだ子供が苦を受けると信じられている冥土(めいど)にある河原。西院(さいいん)（斎院）の河原ともいう。ここで子供が石を積んで塔をつくろうとすると、鬼がきてそれを崩し子供を責めさいなむが、やがて地蔵菩薩(じぞうぼさつ)が現れて子供を救い守るという。このありさまは、「地蔵和讃(わさん)」や「賽の河原和讃」などに詳しく説かれ、民衆に広まった。賽の河原は、仏典のなかに典拠がなく、日本中世におこった俗信と考えられるが、その由来は、『法華経(ほけきょう)』方便品(ほうべんぼん)の、童子が戯れに砂で塔をつくっても功徳(くどく)があると説く経文に基づくとされる。また名称については、昔の葬地である京都の佐比(さい)川や大和(やまと)国（奈良県）の狭井(さい)川から出たという説、境を意味する賽から出たという説などがある。

［松本史朗］

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