The Six Jizo Statues and Yatate Funerary Grounds
Open-air burials were once held for the deceased in the Yatate area. This was a funerary practice in which bodies were placed on the ground so that birds and local wildlife could return the remains to nature. The funeral procession would come to this stone altar and intone prayers as the mourners circled the statues of the Buddhist guardian deity Jizo. During the rites, the body would be laid out on the flat rocks in front of the statues.
Visitors may notice that there are actually seven Jizo figures. The largest one is considered the leader of the smaller six, and so is left out of the count.
The nearest choishi stone marker is number 59.