:Komainu
{{Short description|Statues mainly found in Shinto shrines}}
{{italic title}}
{{nihongo|Komainu|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 Shinto shrines.
Symbolic meaning
{{Further|Japanese Buddhism}}
A twin pair of komainu (construable as "Korean dog") or two shishi ("lion")/karajishi ("Chinese lion") are the typical stone-made creatures associated with gatekeeping 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 closedShogakukan Encyclopedia, Komainu), and together they symbolically represent the beginning and the end of all things.{{Cite web |year=2001 |title="A un" (阿吽) |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/a/aun.htm |access-date=14 April 2011 |publisher=Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System}} The two forms are called {{nihongo|a-gyō|阿形||{{lit|"a" shape}}}} for the open mouthed statue symbolically representing the beginning of all things, and {{nihongo|un-gyō|吽形||{{lit|"un" shape}}}} for the closed mouth statue symbolically representing the end of all things, or referred to collectively as a-un.Iwanami {{nihongo|Kōjien|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The iconography and symbolism were imported, and not native to Shintoism. The same a-un symbolism is the same one as that associated with the Niō, the two Buddhist gatekeeper deities.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|This is a very common characteristic in religious statue pairs at both temples and shrines. The pattern is Buddhist in origin (see the article about the Niō, human-form guardians of Buddhist temples) and has a symbolic meaning: The open mouth is pronouncing the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, which is pronounced "a", while the closed one is uttering the last letter, which is pronounced "um", to represent the beginning and the end of all things.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/a/aun.htm A un], accessed on July 10, 2010 Together they form the sound Aum, a syllable sacred in several religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.}}
History
Image:China emeishan lion.jpg, China]]
= 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, [http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/roots/world/rw01/rw01.html Culture of the lion around the world; roots of the shisa] {{webarchive | url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091009064358/http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/roots/world/rw01/rw01.html | date= October 9, 2009 }} During its transportation along the Silkroad, however, the symbol changed{{Citation needed|reason=Sources needed to support this claim about this "Silkroad" change|date=January 2019}}, 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 folding screens.
= 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 {{nihongo|shishi|獅子||{{lit|lion}}}} 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, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/komainu.htm 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 objects protecting Buddhist temples, royal palaces, nobility residences or even private homes. A pair of these dogs are painted on the front walls of the honden (inner sanctuary) at the Kamo-wakeikazuchi Shrine, but such painted examples are a rare, possibly unique.{{sfnp|Cali|Dougill|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=J1gEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 116]}}
According to one reckoning, the komainu have been used outdoors only since the 14th century. In Japan, too it ended up being installed at the entrance of shrines and temples next to the lion-dog.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" to the shrine) and are now categorized as {{nihongo|sandō komainu|参道狛犬||{{lit|entrance-road Komainu}}}}. The much older type are called {{nihongo|jinnai komainu|陣内狛犬||{{lit|komainu within [the shrine]'s premises}}}}.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 wild boars, tigers, dragons and foxes.
Parallels
= Foxes at Inari shrines =
File:Kagamiyama-jinja Honden.jpg]]
A variant of the komainu theme is the fox, acting as guardian of shrines dedicated to the Inari deity. There are about 30 thousand Inari shrines in Japan, and the entrance of each is guarded by a pair of fox statues. Often one, and sometimes both, has a sūtra roll, a key or a jewel in its mouth (sūtras are Buddhist texts, a fact which attests to the Buddhist origins of the Inari cultOn 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. White foxes are messengers of the kami, who is sometimes himself believed to be, and portrayed as, a fox.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 {{nihongo|shīsā|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, [http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/roots/world/rw03/rw03.html The Chinese lion-Guardian dogs] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008014542/http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/roots/world/rw03/rw03.html |date=October 8, 2009 }} Their name itself is centuries old regional variant of {{nihongo|shishi-san|獅子さん||{{lit|Mr. Lion}}}}.
Gallery
{{gallery
|File:A-un-pair.jpg|A-un pair of komainu; "a" on the right, "un" on the left
|File:Shinomiya jinja komainu with a horn on its head.jpg|A komainu with a horn on its head
|File:Okinawan shīsā.jpg|An Okinawan shīsā
|File:Inari-kitsune fox in front of an Inari shrine with a key in its mouth.jpg|A fox in front of an Inari shrine with a key in its mouth
|File:Numazu Aratama Inari Jinja.jpg|Pair of fox guardians with kit at Numazu Aratama Inari Jinja
|File:Numazu Aratama Inari Jinja Fox Guardian Right Male.jpg|Detail view of the right fox guardian of the shrine Aratama Inari Jinja in Numazu with visible male genitalia
|File:Numazu Aratama Inari Jinja Fox Guardian Left Female.jpg|Detail view of the left fox guardian of the shrine Aratama Inari Jinja in Numazu with kit
|File:Toyohashi Saikouji Komainu.jpg|Komainu outside the gate of Saikouji in Toyohashi
|File:Toyohashi Saikouji Komainu Left Female.jpg|Detail view of left Komainu outside the gate of Saikouji in Toyohashi with cub
|File:Wake Jinja guardian wild boar koma-inoshishi Agyo-right.jpg|A guardian wild boar
|File:Tamon'in Tokorozawa guardian komatora (狛虎) Agyo-right.jpg|A guardian {{nihongo|komatora|狛虎}}
|File:Komainu at Tozan Shrine in Arita, Saga Prefecture, made of porcelain.jpg|A komainu at Tozan Shrine in Arita, Saga Prefecture, is made of porcelain.
}}
See also
{{Portal|Japan|Animals}}
Explanatory notes
{{Notelist}}
References
= Citations =
{{Reflist|2|refs=
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= General and cited references =
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite web|title=JAANUS|url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/|publisher=on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}}
- {{cite web|title=Lion-dogs|url=http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/data/choukoku/komainu.htm|publisher=Kyoto National Museum Dictionary|access-date=16 July 2010|archive-date=3 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203105611/http://www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/data/choukoku/komainu.htm|url-status=dead}}
- {{cite encyclopedia|last=Mihashi|first=Ken|title=Komainu|url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%8B%9B%E7%8A%AC/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218171120/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%8B%9B%E7%8A%AC/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 February 2013|encyclopedia=Shogakukan Encyclopedia online|publisher=Yahoo|access-date=16 July 2010|language=ja}}
- {{cite web|last=Kanechiku|first=Nobuyuki|title=Shishi|url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%8D%85%E5%AD%90/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218235101/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%8D%85%E5%AD%90/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 February 2013|publisher=Shogakukan Encyclopedia online|access-date=16 July 2010|language=ja}}
- {{cite web|url=http://japanese-religions.jp/publications/assets/JR_34_1_a_Kotera.pdf|title=Komainu|last=Kotera|first=Yoshiaki|publisher=Japanese Religions|language=ja|access-date=31 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719232805/http://japanese-religions.jp/publications/assets/JR_34_1_a_Kotera.pdf|archive-date=19 July 2011}}
- {{cite encyclopedia|last=Nakayama|first=Kaoru|title=Komainu|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=259|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Shinto|publisher=Kokugakuin University|access-date=27 December 2010}}
- {{cite web|last=Scheid, Bernhard|author-link=Bernhard Scheid|title=Inari Fuchswächter |url=http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/mythen/bilder_inari_kitsune.htm|publisher=University of Vienna|access-date=30 July 2010|language=de}}
- {{cite web|title=Shisa Travelogue|url=http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/|publisher=Okinawa Prefectural Government|access-date=18 July 2010}}
- {{cite book|last = Smyers, Karen Ann|author-link = Karen Ann Smyers|title = The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship|publisher = University of Hawaii Press|year = 1999|location = Honolulu|isbn = 0-8248-2102-5|oclc = 231775156}}
{{refend}}
External links
- {{Commons category inline}}
- {{Commons category inline|Inari fox statues}}
{{Shinto shrine}}
{{Buddhist temples in Japan}}
{{Japanese architectural elements}}
{{Japanese folklore long}}
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Category:Buddhist architecture
Category:Japanese architectural features
Category:Japanese Buddhist architecture
Category:Japanese legendary creatures
Category:Objects believed to protect from evil