Kanodoro is metal lantern, this one is at the junction of 400 & 461 (The old Rikuu Highway) in Otawara, which was the main road from Tokyo north in the old days. The main road had lighted markers every so often to help travelers find their way.
This commemorates one of these, the original was built in 1819 at the crossroads town Uemachi to pray for safety and light the night journey of the travelers.
At the end of WWII there was a major metal recovery program in Japan and the Kanodoro was melted down for its metal, a second lantern was created and returned to Kurioso in 1978.
The current Kanodoro is the 3rd one, and has been reproduced exactly like the original by local volunteers…
Information from: http://www.city.ohtawara.tochigi.jp/11,800,45,161.html
Just Life in Japan 