DOSOJIN

   The 'ancestors' of roads, also known as sae no kami or dorokujin and often represented as an old couple. As kami of roads, borders, mountain passes and other 'transitional' spaces (see sae no kami) they protect the village against pestilence and disease as well as from spirits and travellers. The dosojin also take phallic forms (see seishoku matsuri) and are associated with procreation and childbirth. They may be found enshrined in this form in dosojin jinja.