o-Jizou-san

Jizou statues like this are all over Japan, in neighborhoods and at crossroads. Jizou is a kami who represents an Indian bodhisattva, and he is thought to watch over and protect mainy travelers (thus the crossroads) and children (neighborhoods). Not only neighborhood children, but those who died prematurely, as well as the stillborn and aborted. In the Jizou-bon festival which finishes the bon season of the spirits, children gather at the local Jizou statue and pay homage, then play games and receive candy and toys.