• It wasnt until after I had taken loads of pictures in this temple of the little buddah-like statues that I learnt their true meaning. This is Ojizō-sama, or Jizō: The Saviour of Souls. He is the guardian of children who have died before their parents' deaths. Here, each of the 180+ statues represents a soul. Im still not sure why the main Jizō had a black head-covering and why one of the ones on the left had a pink covering. If anyone out there knows please do let me know.

  
  This particular Jizō temple is at the Kiyomizu-dera shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

EXIF

Comments

• I was wondering when we were going to see some Buddhas from your trip to Japan. And you have not disappointed.
  Bob @ 08-10-2009
• @Bob: Haha! Yea, I did take loads of pics of Buddhas but frankly since this kind of photography is not my thing, I never know if they are good enough to post. However, since I want to document my trip to Japan, I wanted to post this shot cuz this temple really moved me.
  
  Thanks for your comment.
  frisky @ 08-10-2009
• how touching.
  Otto K. @ 08-10-2009
• Very nice composition, I like the green against the grey stone and the coloured hat's and bib's on the statues.
  
  I'd assume the hat's are made by parents who have lost a child and that pink was that childs favourite colour.
  
  I can spend hours is a Buddhist temple, they are so peaceful yet also welcoming.
  Mike Dougan @ 08-10-2009
• A very touching picture. Like the contrast between the light and shadow.
  pernilla @ 08-11-2009
• Interesting narrative, amazing the number of statues. Beautiful capture, the red colors are fascinating in this image.
  John Maslowski @ 08-11-2009
• now that explains why they have bibs on.. :) i like the serene mood here.. very nice shot.. :)
  rian @ 08-11-2009
• i especially like the ones in the shadows.
  matt @ 08-11-2009
• Love the lighting on this - the way the white collars stick out in the middle third of the photo is extremely cool and arresting.
  SD (Aspherical) @ 08-13-2009