tsujidou　辻堂

KEY WORD :　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. *Jizou 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: *jizoudou 地蔵堂; *kannondou 観音堂; or *yakushidou 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.

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