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These signified that some sick child was being prayed for; and the number of the rice-cakes signified the number of the years of the child. Most often there were but two or three cakes; rarely there were seven or ten. The Amida-ji no Bikuni took care of the statue, and supplied it with incense-offerings, and flowers from the temple garden; for there was a small garden behind the An-dera.
People called her the Amida-ji no Bikuni, which means The Nun of the Temple of Amida. A little outside the gate there was a statue of Jizo. This Jizo was a special Jizo the friend of sick children. There were nearly always offerings of small rice-cakes to be seen before him.
Very early in its history Japanese Buddhism welcomed womanhood to its fraternity and order, yet the Japanese ama, bikuni, or nun, never became a sister of mercy, or reached, even within a measurable distance, the dignity of the Christian lady in the nunnery. In European history the abbess is a notable figure.
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