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I went for a walk in the country side around Mt. Tsukuba.
Spring has come to every corner.
Every life shows his original form again according as the Ho (truth, dharma).
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I found this statue on the country road.
Everyone in Japan
calls him "Mr.Jizo".
He is very popular deity in the folk belief of the Japanese.
His statues are quite often seen by the roadside in rural districts.
In Japan he is almost always represented as a monk,
with shaven head. Usually he stands, holding
in his right hand a pilgrim's staff, and in his left hand a pearl.
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In the belief of the common people in Japan
he especially favors children and the wicked.
He was popularly believed as the patron saint of travelers,
of children and of pregnant women.
Though looking dirty because he is caught directly by rain and wind,
he is loved and sometimes given foods by the people.
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