Hokora

 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 , literally meaning "kami repository", a fact that seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house some "yorishiro". 