SAE NO KAMI

   Or sai no kami. 'Sae' has the meaning of 'to block' and sae no kami are deities of the boundary. This kami is represented by a large rock and is believed to prevent evil spirits and malign influences entering the village at crossroads. He is found in the Kojiki, at the boundary between the world of the living and the dead, and between the sexes, hence sae no kami's association with procreation and fertility as well as village boundaries (see Dosojin). He is popularly associated, as the guardian deity of boundaries and children, with the bosatsu Jizo, widely venerated as the protector of mizuko (aborted or miscarried foetuses) in modern Japan.