Hokora

Hokora or hokura is a miniature Shinto shrine either found on the precincts of a larger shrine and dedicated to folk kami, or on a street side, enshrining kami not under the jurisdiction of any large shrine. Dōsojin, minor kami protecting travelers from evil spirits, can for example be enshrined in a hokora. The term hokora, believed to have been one of the first Japanese words for Shinto shrine, evolved from hokura, literally meaning "kami repository", a fact that seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house some yorishiro.