Cut Crystal Formal Prayer Beads Bracelet – Tendai Sect (April Birthstone)

Cut Crystal Birthstone Bracelet – Formal Tendai Sect Prayer Beads

This one-of-a-kind piece pairs the star-and-moon bodhi seed with April's birthstone, crystal, in the formal style of the Tendai sect — part of Kohgen Ojuzukan's original Sect & Birthstone series.

About the Materials

The main beads are made from star-and-moon bodhi seeds (hoshizuki bodaiju) sourced from Hainan Island, China — considered the finest grade available. The countless small black flecks on each seed are said to resemble stars in a night sky, while the single larger mark left by the stem is likened to the moon, together evoking the universe, which has long been regarded in Buddhism as the realm of the Buddha. The bodhi tree is also cherished as the very tree beneath which Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. (Many other types of bodhi seed are also used in prayer beads, including kongo, tengen, kokuryu, hogan, maya, kogan, gogan, and antique star-and-moon bodhi.)

About Cut Crystal, the April Birthstone

When it comes to bracelets, crystal remains an enduringly popular choice. It is one of the oldest natural stones cherished by people, long used in charms and rituals, and is still valued today for its calming, healing qualities and its frequent use in fortune-telling. Faceted into this bracelet's beads, the crystal catches the light from every angle, sparkling in a way that never grows tiring to look at — a genuine treat for anyone who loves crystal.

About the Tendai Sect Formal Style

This bracelet follows the formal prayer bead design of the Tendai sect, traditionally strung with a full 108 beads. Twenty flat counting beads and 10 round counting beads hang from the parent bead, forming an important mechanism for keeping count while chanting sutras: the main bead is advanced by one for each recitation, and once a full circuit is complete, one of the flat counting beads is moved up. Once all the counting beads have been raised, roughly 30,000 recitations have been counted in total.

Product Specifications

Item Number: 633v004000000
Parent Bead (Oyadama): Approx. 0.39 in (1.0 cm) – Cut Crystal
Main Beads (Shudama): Approx. 0.28 in × 0.12 in thick (0.7 cm × 0.3 cm) – Star-and-Moon Bodhi Seed
Top Bead (Tendama): Approx. 0.20 in (0.5 cm) – Cut Crystal
Inner Diameter: Approx. 6.69 in (17.0 cm)
Note: As each bracelet is handcrafted from natural gemstone and bodhi seed, the exact grain and shade may vary slightly from the images shown. This is a one-of-a-kind piece.