お遍路（志度）２００５年 062

お遍路（志度）２００５年 062
Originally uploaded by Ryuugakusei.

This was an interesting, if not a little unsettling, assemblage of the heads of local family shrine statues. A fascinating feature of rural Japan is that families have lived in the area, and maintained their family plot of land for dozens of generations. Since Shinto/Buddhist custom requires the cremation of the body after death, most families erect a statue/tombstone/small shrine on their plot of land to protect the ashes/spirit of the dearly departed. With this tradition continued for hundreds of years, some of the statues fall into disrepair and others have histories that have been lost over time. It's interesting to think about what different eras each of these recovered statuary heads had been recovered from.