When Izo moved into the Residence, Oyasama said:
“Give all your possessions to others. There is no need for you to bring a single thing. God will provide everything you need at the Residence.”
So Izo gave away most of his possessions. The only items that he brought with him from Ichinomoto were eight sliding doors, ten tray tables, a corner cabinet and 20 layers of bedding.
The following happened shortly after Izo received the Sazuke of Speech in about 1875. After working all day on the construction of the South Gatehouse, he went to bed upon returning home to Ichinomoto. Izo suddenly sat up on his futon in the middle of the night and said, “Separation of husband and wife, separation of husband and wife.”
Sato and the children were shocked and feared that Izo had gone insane. Izo then jumped a distance of about two meters and said: “I live about five ri (20 km) to the east. It is much too sad for me to have to leave behind my five children,” and began weeping before soundly falling back to sleep.
One night in 1866, a disaster occurred at the Iburi residence where Izo was born. A fire had broke out at a place that was not normally considered a fire hazard and the house completely burned to the ground. Izo was informed the next day of the news and promptly returned to Mukoji.
Upon arrival, Izo found his family and the neighbors deliberating on the cause of the fire. Izo sat silently in a corner and allowed the discussion to runs its course. Someone then suggested that the cause had to be arson.
Because Izo was such an honest person, he would never lie, cheat, or deceive others.
Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 12
As a result of the Oyamato Shrine Incident, debts were incurred with the lumber dealer Shinbei Shoji (Daishin) and the roof tile dealer Ikuzo Fukui during the construction of the Place for the Service. While Izo was able to pay off the lumber dealer after New Year’s in 1865, he was unable to pay off the debt to Ikuzo for some time. A bill would come to Izo and he paid it off little by little.
Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 11
On one New Year’s Eve, Izo’s brother Kumejiro came through with 5 ryo, four of which Izo used to pay off his year-end debts. Though different accounts do not agree on the year — some claim the year to be 1867 but it most likely was 1864 — Izo never forgot Kumejiro’s kindness.
Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 10
When Sato suffered an illness following her miscarriage in the spring of 1864, Izo desperately sought help from various doctors and prayer-specialists. Although there is an account that claims that a fellow carpenter named Nagai told Izo about Oyasama’s growing local reputation as the “living god of safe childbirth,” it is often a “Kisaburo of Tsubao Village” who is given this credit.
Similarly, accounts differ on whether Izo had previously been to Shoyashiki Village. There is an account that claims that Izo had done carpentry jobs there from time to time and because the Kajimotos were the Iburis’ neighbors, Izo must have already heard about Oyasama since Haru Kajimoto was Her daughter. However, the general consensus is that Izo had never heard of Shoyashiki Village prior to Sato’s illness and that the Kajimotos never spoke of Oyasama in front of the Iburis.
From his days as a carpenter in Ichinomoto, Izo attended the annual memorial service devoted to Shotoku Taishi on February 22 at Horyuji Temple. It was a custom for the carpenters in the Kinki area where Izo lived to attend as they considered Shotoku Taishi to be the founder of Japanese carpentry. When a pressing business kept him from going to the temple that day, he made it a point to worship the following day.
There was once a contract bid on a construction project in the Nara City area.
While the others sought to make their bids lower than the rest, Izo placed his bid after considering the cost of the materials and construction and ended up with the highest bid.
Continue reading Anecdotes of the Honseki Izo Iburi 7
Izo always sang the following song while doing carpentry work:
“Even Shakyamuni (the Buddha) loses at gambling; he is completely naked on the eighth day of the fourth month (his birthday).”