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SHISHI (also Korean Dog, Chinese Lion)
SHINTO SHRINE GUARDIANS WITH MAGICAL POWERS
Last Update April 28, 2004 = Added Photo Tour
Last Update June 10, 2003 = Added Photos
 
(L) Modern Painting (R) Saikumono - Hirado porcelain
Shishi (or Jishi) is translated as "lion" but it can also refer to a deer or dog with magical properties and the power to repel evil spirits. A pair of shishi traditionally stand guard outside the gates of Japansese Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples (although temples are more often guarded by the Nio Protectors). Shishi are depicted with their mouth open (to scare off demons) or closed (to shelter and keep in the good spirits). Another traditional explanation for the open/closed mouth relates to Ah and Un ("Ah" is the first letter in the Sanskrit syllabary and symbolizes open mouth, while "Un" is the last letter and it represents a closed mouth. The same holds true for the Japanese syllabary). The combination is said to symbolically represent birth and death. Only one of the below photos shows the shishi with a horn on its head -- by the Kamakura Period, the horned shishi of the Nara and Heian periods had been replaced with the hornless version we see today. The circular object beneath their feet is the Tama, or sacred Buddhist jewel, a symbol of Buddhist wisdom that brings light to darkness and holds the power to grant wishes.
  
Stone statues from Meiji Period (private home in Kamakura)
This mythical beast was probably introduced to Japan from China and/or Korean in the 7th or 8th century AD, during the same period as Buddhism's transmission to Japan, for the Japanese shishi combines elements of both the Korean "Koma-inu" (Korean dog) and Chinese "Kara-shishi" (Chinese lion). One prominent theory holds that the shishi derives from the Chinese Foo Dog (see RESOURCES below for more). Lions, by the way, are not indigineous to Japan, China or Korea, and supposedly entered those nations in the form of imported art and sculpture, with the earliest traces of the animal appearing in China's Han Dynasty (about 208 BC to 221 AD).
CELADON SHISHI
courtesy www.fareastasianart.com
The open mouth, along with the pierced ball, indicate a male shishi,
representing the Yang, male, and active principle of the universe
In China, the lion is the master of all felines, the defender of law, and the protector of sacred buildings. It is a symbol of power and success, and of royality and strenghth. Images of it were embroidered on court robes. In Korea, the skin on Koma-inu's head was believed to be stronger than a helmet. In Japan, the shishi is a noble beast who protects the entrace to the temple/shrine, and in some cases, the tomb. Shishi nearly always come in mated pairs (male and female). Helena Burton at Oxford University says the shishi is sometimes tattooed on a woman's belly to protect her during childbirth. Occasionally, Buddhist deities are depicted mounted on the beast.
 
Wooden Shishi Lend Beauty to Buddhist Buildings
Shishi are also commonly used as architectural elements,
placed under the eaves of religious structures to ward off evil spirits
 
Stone Guardians Outside Hansobo Shrine in Kamakura
Koma-inu at Zenkoji in Nagano
From the wonderful photo library of Angus McIntyre
 Local Myth, The Lion Dance
In Japan, the shishi-mai or lion dance is often seen at shrine festivals and at New Year's, when performers visit each home in the neighborhood to cast charms against evil spirits and diseases while receiving offerings. A shishi-gashira, or lion's head, is the headdress worn by the performers. The shishi-gashira, moreover, is traditionally placed near a newborn baby boy because the lion's magic is believed to protect the boy from evil spirits and misfortune. Today there are still many skilled craftsmen making shishi-gashira.
 Shishi-mai, or "Lion Dance," is performed while wearing the headdress or various masks. Shishi masks take on many forms, some with horns, others looking like a dog, a deer, or a lion. This dance was probably introduced to Japan by or before the 8th century owing to frequent Japanese missions to China's Tang Court during the 7th-8th centuries AD. Shishi-mai dances became widespread in Japan thereafter as both a form of festival entertainment and as a means to ward off evil spirits, to pray for peace, bountiful harvests, and good health. The Wharton (Tokyo) web site reports that over 9,000 different Shishi-mai dance forms are still performed throughout Japan.
SHISHI NOH MASKS
- Left - Shishi-guchi (lion's mouth) mask, used for the lion spirit in Scene II of Shakkyo (play from which many Kabuki lion dances are derived)
- Center. Ko-jishi (ko-shishi) mask used in Noh plays
- Right. O-jishi. Mask used to depict the parent of Ko-jishi. This mask is used for two or more lions in a scene of the play
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Koma-inu
One has its mouth open, the other closed.
The one with open mouth has a horn on its forehead.
This is a very important point, for the open-mouthed beast
is not a lion-dog, but just a lion! Only the close-mouthed
lion-dog with the horn is really a lion-dog!
Have you ever seen a lion-dog sculpture? Lion-dogs are the guardians that can be seen outside the gates of many Japanese shrines. Such lion-dogs are generally made of stone, but the sculptures we are going to talk about today are made of wood. Why do you think this might be?
The truth is that back in Japan's Heian and Kamakura periods (from the late 8th through 14th Centuries), the lion dogs were placed, not outside, as they are today, but inside, under the roofs of the gate or the shrine buildings. In those days, almost all the buildings and Buddhist or Shinto sculptures were made of wood, so naturally the lion-dogs were too! Later, when the lion-dogs were placed outside, they began to be made of stone, in order to better withstand the elements.
Take a look at the lion dogs above. For dogs, don't you think they look strange, with their scary-looking faces and manes? They look more like wild beasts than the dogs we keep as pets. In the old days too, people thought these lion-dogs were kind of strange, so they thought up many explanations for why they might look like this. Some people said that this was the way dogs looked in Korea (the Japanese name for "lion-dog" is actually "Korean dog"). Others said that in ancient times, this is the way people from southern Kyushu Island ("Hayato") looked when they dressed up and barked like dogs in order to guard the emperor. In actuality, however, the strange appearance of the lion-dogs comes from the influence of their predecessors, the lions that guard the gates of Buddhist temples!
Koma Inu
Buddhism started in India, then moved along the Silk Road into China, onto the Korean peninsula, then finally across the sea into Japan in the 6th Century. At that time, bringing Buddhism into Japan meant bringing Buddhist sculptures into Japan. And along with the sculptures of Buddhas themselves came the sculptures of the two lions that stand guard before them. This is how the Japanese began the tradition of placing two lions in front of Buddhas. At this time, however, there were only lions and no lion-dogs.
Now, look again at the photos of lion-dogs above. The one on the left is different than the one on the right, isn't it? One has its mouth open and the other has its mouth closed. The one with its mouth closed has a horn on its forehead. This is a very important point. Actually, the open-mouthed lion-dog is not a lion-dog, but a lion! Only the close-mouthed lion-dog is really a lion dog!
The practice of pairing one lion-dog and one lion started in the Heian Period (794-1185). Before that, in the Nara Period, the pairs had always consisted of two lions. This means that the two lions, which were the predecessors to the lion-dogs of today, go back over 1200 years!
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Contemporary Artist
Photo (clickable) from www.tsutsugaki.org
NEW PHOTOS SINCE JUNE 2003
Stone Shishi at Zenyo-in (Inatori City)
 
Above: Shishi at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu (Kamakura)
Shishi Noise Maker - Wooden
from Kamakura-gu Shrine (Daitonomiya) in Kamakura
Holding this toy by the handle (see green line above)
you shake it up and down, and the head and mouth,
which are separate pieces, make the sharp sound of wood on wood
RESOURCES - Learn More
- Shishi Photo Tour
- www.kyohaku.go.jp/mus_dict/hd20e.htm
- www.delightfuldogs.com/delightfuldogsfoo.htm
- www.artelino.com/articles/japanese_gods_and_goddesses.asp
- 208.55.77.56/alterasian/arttattooirezumi4.html
- www.rarebreed.com/breeds/foo/foo_std.html
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