Dōsojin
Dōsojin (道祖神, road ancestor kami) is a generic name for a type of Shinto kami popularly worshiped in Kanto (this region includes the seven prefectures of Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa) as tutelary deities of borders, they are believed to protect travelers and villages from epidemics and evil spirits. Also called Sae no kami or Sai no kami (障の神・塞の神), Dōrokujin (道陸神) or Shakujin (石神, stone kami?), they are often represented as a human couple, by carved male or female genitals, large stones or statues, or even tall poles along a road.
Dōsojin can sometimes be enshrined in small roadside Shinto shrines called hokora. When shaped like a phallus, they are associated with birth and procreation, and therefore marital harmony. When represented as a human couple, a Dōsojin is revered as a deity of marriage and fertility.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Dōsojin ]
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