Striped Agate Formal Prayer Beads Bracelet – Tendai Sect (August Birthstone)

Striped Agate Birthstone Bracelet – Formal Tendai Sect Prayer Beads

This one-of-a-kind piece pairs the star-and-moon bodhi seed with August's birthstone, striped agate (sardonyx), 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 Striped Agate, the August Birthstone

Striped agate (sardonyx) is formed from tightly packed clusters of tiny quartz crystals, giving it a distinctive banded appearance. Its vivid orange and white stripes are eye-catching, and for this piece the tassels were finished in a soft ash-pink to complement the stone's rich coloring. Striped agate is said to symbolize marital happiness and is believed to bring good encounters to those who are single, making it a stone associated with love. It is said to bring happiness and good fortune in marriage, fostering harmony between husband and wife while still allowing each person to live true to their own individuality, surrounded by a warm family. It also makes a lovely gift for anyone born in August.

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: 633v008000000
Parent Bead (Oyadama): Approx. 0.39 in (1.0 cm) – Striped Agate
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) – Striped Agate
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.