Or "水戸黄門", the gentleman in the middle. Based on Tokugawa Mitsukuni (徳川光圀, 1628-1701), feudal lord of Mito and traveler of the Edo period, he is the main character of one of the longest-running TV shows in Japan (1227 episodes from 1969 to 2011) named after him.
In this statue, which you can see in Mito Station, he's flanked by his two retainers, Suke-san and Kaku-san. Some day I must write something longer about him; he's a cultural phenomenon worth exploring.
(For a bigger version of these pictures both in color and black and white, check my "Japan Arekore" set on Flickr)
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