Dosojin Statue

You can see a lot of stone statues on the roadside when you take a walk around Azumino. It is called "Dosojin Statue". The greater part of them were built in the late Edo period. It is said that people in the old days put up them to prevent invasion of evils into each communities.




There are two kinds of Dosojin Statues. One is only with Japanese characters as shown in the left statue of the top photo. The other is a statue on which a married couple is being sculptured like the left photo. So, the statue is also thought to be a symbol of happier marriage.



In the typical statue, they are taking each other's hands, or a wife is serving Japanese sake to her husband. They are smiling. They are gentle....... I am fond of them.