In Japan the shinto temples have lots of stone figures standing vigil that are outfitted with a sort of bib around their necks that I'd never seen before. Some of them wear little caps. The reasons vary. For the childlike figures it was a melancholic tribute to children who passed away before their parents that would wear the child's bib as a sort of protection in the afterlife. The ones around the stone kitsune or foxes have more opaque origins - the most likely reason is that red is a colour that can expel demons and ward off sickness. Kitsune usually mean the shrine are devoted to the inari the divine spirits tasked with protecting farmers and their crops - usually rice. Seeing these stone gods adorned with fabric humanizes them somehow, as if they are prone to weaknesses like us and need an extra layer of protection against the whims of the afterlife. The fact that these pieces of cloth are made by human hands creates a link between humans and Gods that feels like an organic partnership instead of an imposed will from above.