狛犬, often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of lion-like creatures, which traditionally guard the entrance or gate of the shrine, or placed in front of or within the honden (inner sanctum) of Japanese .
Symbolic meaning
A twin pair of
komainu (construable as "Korean dog"
) or two
shishi ("lion")/
karajishi ("Chinese lion") are the typical stone-made creatures associated with
Gatekeeper on Shinto shrine grounds.
The dog and lion pairs are seen as interchangeable.
Meant to ward off evil spirits, modern komainu statues usually are almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed (however, exceptions exist, where both komainu have their mouth either open or closed[Shogakukan Encyclopedia, Komainu]), and together they symbolically represent the beginning and the end of all things.[Iwanami 広辞苑 Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version] The iconography
History
Origins
In Asia, the lion was popularly believed to have the power to repel evil, and for this reason it was habitually used to guard gates and doors. The
Komainu strongly resemble Chinese guardian lions and in fact originate from
Tang dynasty China.
[Encyclopedia of Shinto, Komainu] The Chinese guardian lions are believed to have been influenced by
Asiatic lion pelts and lion depictions introduced through trade from either the
Middle East or
India, countries where the lion existed and was a symbol of strength.
[Shisa Travelogue, Culture of the lion around the world; roots of the shisa ] During its transportation along the
Silk Road, however, the symbol changed, acquiring a distinctive look. The first lion statue in India appears around the 3rd century BC on top of a column erected by King
Ashoka.
[ The tradition later arrived in China where it developed into the guardian lion that was later exported to Korea, Japan, and Okinawa. During the Nara period (710–794), as in the rest of Asia, the pair always consisted of two lions.][Kyoto National Museum Dictionary] Used only indoors until the 14th century, they were made mainly of wood. During the Heian period (794–1185), for example, wooden or metal pairs were employed as weights and door-stops, while at the Imperial Palace they were used to support screens or .
Heian period
The custom of placing wooden, and later stone representations of the kara-inu and lions were established no later than the mid-Heian period (tenth century), though precise dating remains uncertain.
Perhaps as early as the earlier part of the Heian period (ninth century), the tradition changed and the two statues started to be different and be called differently. One had its mouth open and was called because, as before, it resembled that animal. The other had its mouth closed, looked rather like a dog, was called komainu, or "Goguryeo dog", and sometimes had a single horn on its head.[JAANUS, Komainu, accessed on July 16, 2010] Gradually the animals returned to be identical, but for their mouths, and ended up being called both komainu.
Eventually they were also became Apotropaic magic objects protecting Buddhist temples,
According to one reckoning, the komainu have been used outdoors only since the 14th century.[Shogakukan Encyclopedia, Shishi] As a protection against exposure to Japan's rainy weather, the komainu started being carved in stone.
Edo period
Starting in the Edo period the komainu began to be placed at the sandō (tr. "avenues of approach"[Kotera, pages 1 and 2] They can sometimes be found also at Buddhist temples, nobility residences or even private homes.
Starting from the Edo period (1603–1868) other animals have been used instead of lions or dogs, among others , tigers, and .
Parallels
Foxes at Inari shrines
A variant of the komainu theme is the Kitsune, acting as guardian of shrines dedicated to the Inari deity.[On the fusion of Shintō and Buddhism, see the article Shinbutsu shūgō]). The statues do not symbolize the animals' proverbial malice, but the magic powers they are believed to possess. Sometimes the guardians are painted, and in that case they are always white.[Scheid, Inari Fuchswächter] Although visible genitals are rare, the left fox is believed to be male, the right one female.[Smyers (1999:229)]
Often the foxes wear red votive bibs similar to those worn by statues of other figures: for example, the Buddhist bodhisattva figure Jizō. In this case, however, the bibs seem to be purely a rite, whose origins are unclear.
Okinawan shīsā
The シーサー, the stone animals that in Okinawa guard the gates or the roofs of houses, are close relatives of the shishi and the komainu, objects whose origin, function and symbolic meaning they share.[Shisa Travelogue, The Chinese lion-Guardian dogs ] Their name itself is centuries old regional variant of .
Gallery
See also
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited references
External links
