狛犬Komainu (guardian lion-dogs)
A pair of guardian figures at a shrine entrance. One has its mouth open, the other closed — 'a' and 'un', the first and last sounds, standing for the beginning and the end.
How to recognise it
- Usually a pair, facing each other or the path
- One open mouth, one closed
- Stone, bronze or wood; sometimes a ball or a cub under a paw
Look-alikes
- Inari foxes — Slim foxes with pointed ears and bushy tails, often holding something in their mouths, mean an Inari shrine.
- Niō (temple guardian kings) — Large muscular human figures inside a gate are Niō — temple guardians, not komainu.
Where to see it
Nikkō Tōshō-gūItsukushima Shrine (Miyajima)Komainu Guardian StatuesNi no Torii Second Torii GateTakachiho ShrineIronwork Guardian Dogs (Komainu)Takino’o Takatokusui-jinja ShrineUeno Toshogu Shrine: Shaden (Main Building)Takachiho Shrine: Iron Guardian Statues and Sacred StoneMitsumine Jinja Shrine
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