Dōsojin

Dōsojin are often represented as a human couple, carved male or female genitals, large stones or statues, or even tall poles along a road.

[3] Chimata-no-kami (岐の神, god of crossroads), according to the Kojiki, was born when kami Izanagi threw away his trousers to wash himself after returning from Yomi, the land of the dead.

[7] Chimata-no-kami symbols can be found at crossroads, perhaps because of the deity being associating with joining, and some famous onsens, to cure sexual or fertility issues.

[10] Statues of Jizō can be found along mountain passes or harrowing roads in Japan, often dressed in red, sometimes white, caps and bibs by distressed parents.

[12] In modern times, Dōsojin have become fused in popular belief with a different deity having similar characteristics called "Sae no kami",[2] whose birth is described in the Kojiki.

When one of the kami, Izanagi-no-mikoto, sought to leave after going to the realm of the dead (Yomi no Kuni) to visit his spouse Izanami-no-mikoto, he was chased by the demoness Yomotsushikome (黄泉醜女, lit.

The Dosojin Matsuri is a fire festival meant to celebrate the birth of a family's first child, exorcise yōkai, and ensure blissful marriages.

[13] In chapter 34 of the supernatural manga Hyakki Yakoushou by Ima Ichiko, the male protagonist Ritsu and his cousin Tsukasa are compared to a Dōsojin