Dōsojin

The origin of Dōsojin stone markers is uncertain and has no exact date. It is known, however, that after Buddhism was introduced, Jizō became a tutelary god of travelers and pilgrims. Ethnographic evidence and local chronicles link Dōsojin with protective responses to contagious disease outbreaks: in several local traditions a damaged, missing, or defaced Dōsojin was taken as an omen of epidemic or misfortune and prompted immediate ritual repair or renewed rites. ==Important dōsojin==

Batō Kannon Batō Kannon is the bodhisattva of compassion and keeps a watchful eye over the animal state of Karmic Rebirth. Atop Batō Kannon's head rests a horse's head. Stone statues of this deity can be found beside perilous paths and byways, like Jizō statues, in northern Japan. However, Dosojin in Batō Kannon's form not only protect travelers, but their horses as well. Chimata-no-kami symbols can be found at crossroads, perhaps because of the deity being associating with joining, and some famous onsens, to cure sexual or fertility issues. His assimilation within a group of kami is an example of the Japanese syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto (shinbutsu shūgō). Originally from India, in Japan he was given new attributes and has become the guardian of children, expecting mothers, firemen, travelers, pilgrims, and unborn, aborted, or miscarried children. He is depicted as a plain monk, sometimes holding his in one hand and the in the other. Statues of Jizō can be found along mountain passes or harrowing roads in Japan, often dressed in red, sometimes white, caps and bibs by distressed parents. Small stones are frequently piled in front of a Jizō statue, a tradition believed to relieve a child of their penance. Jizō statues commonly appear in groupings of six, called Roku Jizō. A Roku Jizō appears in the Japanese folktale Kasa Jizō.'''''' Sae no Kami In modern times, Dōsojin have become fused in popular belief with a different deity having similar characteristics called "Sae no kami", whose birth is described in the Kojiki. When one of the kami, Izanagi-no-mikoto, sought to leave after going to the realm of the dead (Yomi no Kuni) to visit his spouse Izanami-no-mikoto, he was chased by the demoness . To stop her, he threw her a stick from which Sae no Kami was born. For this reason, he is the kami who prevents the passage of the spirits of the dead into the world of the living, and therefore a god who is a protector of boundaries. He is represented by large rocks set at the edges of villages. Because of the rocks' elongated shape, he came to be associated also with childbirth, children and matrimonial happiness. As a consequence, he was in turn associated also with Jizō, the bodhisattva who is the protector of children. ==Worship==

Every January 15 in the village of Nozawaonsen, Nagano the Dosojin Matsuri is held. The Dosojin Matsuri is a fire festival meant to celebrate the birth of a family's first child, exorcise yōkai, and ensure blissful marriages. The day prior to the Dosojin Matsuri, a hundred or so residents of Nozawaonsen construct a shaden. Meanwhile, across the glade are two wooden poles that represent a human couple, the village's version of Dōsojin. On the day of the festival the shaden is burned in a scuffle between men ages twenty-five and forty-two—considered unlucky ages for men in Japan—and the rest of the villagers who bear reed torches. As the shaden burns, the village men of forty-two years sing to the Dōsojin. The men ages twenty-five and forty-two play a key role in the festival to attain the protection of the Dōsojin, so that the misfortune brought about by their ages will be nullified. ==In popular culture==

• In chapter 34 of the supernatural manga Hyakki Yakoushou by Ichiko Ima, the male protagonist Ritsu and his cousin Tsukasa are compared to a Dōsojin. • In the 2001 animated film Spirited Away by the japanese animator and artist Hayao Miyazaki, the protagonist Chihiro Ogino and her parents as they stop in the forest, a Dōsojin statue appears at the entrance of building who leads to the spirit world. • In the twentieth game of the bullet hell series Touhou Project, one of the bosses is an Egyptian-themed Dōsojin named Nareko Michigami (). ==Gallery==

File:Dosojin in the snow at Nozawa Onsen.jpg|Dōsojin in the snow at Nozawa Onsen — roadside shrine used in local winter festivals (Nozawa Onsen). File:Nozawa Onsen Dosojin-jinja.jpg|Nozawa Onsen Dōsojin-jinja — shrine complex and paired stones; site of community rituals. File:Ohshimo-no-dosojin.jpg|Carved stone Dōsojin — example of stylized folk carving typically found at village borders. File:Dosojin (道祖神), Hachiken Shrine (八劔社) and Monument of Koshin (庚申塔) at Tango Bridge (丹後橋) - panoramio.jpg |Dōsojin at Hachiken Shrine and nearby Kōshin monument — shows coexistence of multiple folk monuments. File:祝言道祖神（百沢）.jpg|Shūgen (wedding-themed) Dōsojin carving — illustrates the association with marriage and fertility. File:菱野区中村の道祖神.jpg|Village boundary Dōsojin (Nakamura, Hishino) — typical roadside placement marking community limits. File:%E4%BA%9C%E7%B4%B0%E4%BA%9C%E5%A4%A7%E8%A6%B3 09 043 %22%E6%BB%BF%E6%B4%B2%E3%81%AE%E9%81%93%E7%A5%96%E7%A5%9E %EF%BC%88%E5%AF%A7%E5%8F%A4%E5%A1%94%E9%99%84%E8%BF%91%EF%BC%89%22.jpg|Historic photograph of a Dōsojin (captioned in original source) — example of earlier documentation and regional diversity. ==See also==