'Scapegoat doll' with Buddhist face unearthed in Tottori
By ERIKO NAMI/ Staff Writer
March 29, 2018 at 07:30 JST
TOTTORI--A wooden doll with a Buddhist face that would take the blame for disasters has been unearthed in this western city.
The human-shaped piece of wood is probably a “hitogata,†or "scapegoat doll," which was used in purification ceremonies or other arcane Shinto rituals.
The dolls could, for example, effectively take cosmic blame for a smallpox epidemic, but it is quite rare that a Buddhist visage is found on such objects.
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