Random Japan #26 :: O Weary Traveler
They are waiting to help you out.
These guys are all Jizō, or more politely, Ojizōsama. He is a bodhisattva†, one who promised to help all beings out of hell (or hells; there are 6 of them in Buddhism). He is also thought to be the protector of children and of travelers. The latter association is what we are seeing in the above photo. There roadside shrines with one or six Jizō are a common sight in Japan. They are put there for travelers to pray at for help and protection. And yes, even today you will see people stopping and praying at them before continuing on their way. This is mostly older people, however.
If you are a fan of anime you may recall seeing these traveler protection Jizō sometimes. For example, in My Neighbor Totoro, a Jizō shrine appears a couple of times to let us know the characters are going to me ok.
Bonus shots
Faces pop up in the most interesting places. This was at a park I took my son to play at.
Now you know my secret—I always carry a memo book with me to record random ideas, info about photos I am taking, or haiku that pop into my head. I could use my smartphone. I have an app just for this purpose. But I like the feel of handwriting on paper, and I like using a pencil instead of a pen to do that. Hmm... I suppose this either makes me old fashioned (or just plain old) or a hipster. Oh well—take your pick!
Thats all for now. Turn in tomorrow for more random Japan photos. Same Steem-place, same Steem-time!
Footnotes
†: A buddhist saint. Someone who promises not to achieve nirvāṇa until everyone else has and to help everyone else get there.
If you like this random photo from Japan, be sure to check out @kaliju's great Random Korea series. The latest entry there is Random Korea #12 - Bike lanes, Spider-Man and...Nature's Communists!?
Also be sure to follow @kafkanarchy84, @maxinpower, and @boxcarblue for even more random Japan fun! Also, follow the #randomjapan tag for more from Japan, #randomasia for random shots from the entire area.
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Missed a past Random Japan? I've got you covered!
- Dancing Torii
- Busy Night
- The Store of the Beast
- Like a Boss
- Swimming Hole Warning
- Gotta Be the Hat
- The Walls Have Eyes
- Star Wars Coffee
- The Sake Corner
- Study or Play
- Street Art
- Buying Tickets
- Abandoned and Overgrown
- Ting Ting
- Render Unto Caesar
- Lotsa Bikes
- Axis Chemicals
- The Wide View
- When Dinosaurs Rules the Earth
- After the Fall
- Crusin' Japan
- Random House and Japanese Graveyards
- Lion Dogs and Photo Booths
- Rainy Day, Japanese Houses
- The Heartfelt Life
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |
I'm much in favor of paper notes :)
paper fans unite!
📖 🙏
Haha, I love your
Same Steem-place, same Steem-time!
You are younger than me - How do you know the saying "Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel?"
You just took me back to my childhood!
Ah, I got the order backwards. Oh well. When I was a kid, reruns of the 60s Batman were on all the time—daily I think. I loved the show.
heh in this age of reruns, I don't think we can really use TV references to tell a person's age anymore. My son also loves the 60s Batman, as well as the old Popeye shorts from the 30s. I can just imagine in a few years — we'll have a Japanese-American kid using a combination of 30s and 60s slang.
Well my brother and I loved to watch Batman when we were kids(I’m 59) and my husband(60) says he did too! The older tv shows are certainly classics and very entertaining! 😃
I went all digital since last year but I do miss my paper pad. This post just might bring the fire back. Second photo pierces right through you. Those eyes...
So, been wanting to ask, what phone are you using?
Great share as usual, sensei. :)
I was the same: I had gone all digital shortly after upgrading to a smartphone several years ago, but I found I missed paper, and typing ideas into an app didn't spark the same creative thinking as writing by hand, so I went back to a memo book.
I'm using an iPhone 6 as my main phone (I kind of want to upgrade to an X, but I also kind of don't see any real reason to do so beyond that lust for the latest thing), but I also often carry around my iPhone 5 for photos. The camera may not be as good as on the newer phone, but I just like it more. I often give it to my son when he's on the back of my bicycle to take phones with or when I am using one of my SLRs, so it doubles as his camera.
Thanks for the compliments :)
Another One! Very cool in B&W. Thanks for the post!