Keywords
Architecture
Buildings
Structures
Lit. "cross roads hall." A small Buddhist structure erected at the main intersection of a village, along a village road, or at the corner of a rice paddy. The structure is used to house deities of the Buddhist hierarchy, especially those connected with the beliefs of the common village folk.
*Jizō 地蔵, the protector of children and savior of the dead, are the most popular, but *Kannon 観音 and *Yakushi 薬師 are also common. The structures are named after the deity enshrined: *jizōdō 地蔵堂; *kannondō 観音堂; or *yakushidō 薬師堂.
The halls gave the villagers a sense of community. Not many of these structures remain because they have gradually been abandoned in favor of modern public halls.