juzu

Buddhist beads

Juzu beads are to Buddhism as the rosary is to Catholicism. It is thought that the Catholics picked up the tradition from India. Traditionally there are 108 beads, but sometimes it is a half (54), quarter (27), third (36), or a sixth (18) this number. Other terms for juzu are juju, zuzu, and nenju. The "ju" part of the term comes from the word for the seed of the Bodhi tree. The beads are used in worship and for counting how many nembutsu were said.

Talking About Buddhism
Takada Yoshihito and James M. Vardaman, Jr.