“Tacky Temple Tribute” : Tokyo, 19th March 2012
I stumbled upon this hitherto unknown Buddhist temple, Zojo-ji, on my way to Tokyo Tower, which was actually constructed on its grounds.
Around the temple buildings are arrayed ranks of these diminutive figures, weathered by time, many adorned with a red knitted cap and accompanied by a plastic toy twirling in the wind.
Although at first a slightly comical sight, heightened by the tacky presence of the cheap toys (the Japanese, alas, long ago lost their sense of aesthetics), these bizarre objects are in fact Jizo Bodhisattvas, representations of the guardian deity of children, and are memorials to those who have died or been aborted, the caps and toys being left by the grieving parents.
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