I
brought my skateboard with me the first time I visited Japan (I was fairly young
back then) and what a great decision that turned out to be! As with my
board I was able to skate and explore city and countryside alike at a fun and
leisurely pace. My favorite skating experience at that time was when I was
visiting friends in the countryside where the freshly repaved roads proved to be
a skater's paradise. I remember spending many hours pumping and gliding
about the flatlands and low foothills admiring the beauty of rice and tea fields
and exploring impressive old temples and shrines. While making my way
along those smooth, tar black country roads I would, from time to time, spot
small stone statues arranged along the roadside, often with human-looking
figures carved into them. The statues did most commonly depict a single
human form, though I
remember spotting a few statues with what appeared to be an older couple carved
into the stone. Years later I learned that these statues, which are common
throughout Japan, are actually very special representations of roadside deities
called Dosojin. Such statues are normally quite old and were in the
past commonly installed at the boundary of villages, at busy intersections or along
country roads for the protection of travelers and local residents. The
happy couple images I saw are actually a
special type of Dosojin, revered as the kami (deity) of marriage
and fertility (or easy childbirth in some cases).
The photo above (click to enlarge) shows Emily
imitating the pose of a dosojin which sits at the side of a narrow
road leading to a temple in the mountains near our home in Japan.
Research on Dosojin:
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/dosojin-stone-markers.shtml
I
brought my skateboard with me the first time I visited Japan (I was fairly young
back then) and what a great decision that turned out to be! As with my
board I was able to skate and explore city and countryside alike at a fun and
leisurely pace. My favorite skating experience at that time was when I was
visiting friends in the countryside where the freshly repaved roads proved to be
a skater's paradise. I remember spending many hours pumping and gliding
about the flatlands and low foothills admiring the beauty of rice and tea fields
and exploring impressive old temples and shrines. While making my way
along those smooth, tar black country roads I would, from time to time, spot
small stone statues arranged along the roadside, often with human-looking
figures carved into them. The statues did most commonly depict a single
human form, though I
remember spotting a few statues with what appeared to be an older couple carved
into the stone. Years later I learned that these statues, which are common
throughout Japan, are actually very special representations of roadside deities
called Dosojin. Such statues are normally quite old and were in the
past commonly installed at the boundary of villages, at busy intersections or along
country roads for the protection of travelers and local residents. The
happy couple images I saw are actually a
special type of Dosojin, revered as the kami (deity) of marriage
and fertility (or easy childbirth in some cases).
The photo above (click to enlarge) shows Emily
imitating the pose of a dosojin which sits at the side of a narrow
road leading to a temple in the mountains near our home in Japan.
