Commonly referred to as lion dogs in English, Komainu are the stone guardians found either side of shinto shrines in Japan. Originating in the middle-east, komainu arrived in Japan via the Silk road during the Nara period (710 -794). At this time the statues were called “shishi” and more closely resembled lions, symbolising strength. Originally, they were carved from wood and kept inside the shrine’s main hall, meant to ward off evil spirits.
During the 9th century, the pair began to be represented differently, one remaining in its lion form, and the other coming to resemble a dog. The lion had its mouth open while the dog was always shown with its mouth closed. This was another expression of the concept of “ah - un”, the beginning and end of all things as seen in the Nio statues found guarding the gates of Buddhist temples. Ah and un are the first and last letters of the Japanese phonetic alphabet, a descendant of sanskrit.
Over the next couple of centuries the two figures gradually became identical, retaining features of both animals and maintaining the open and closed mouth symbolism. In the 14th century komainu were moved outside of the hall and placed either side on stone plinths, with the pair themselves also being sculpted from stone as a protection against the elements. Since the Edo period, stone Komainu can be found guarding the entrance and/or the main halls of shinto shrines (and also some Buddhist temples) across the length and breadth of Japan.
All photographs taken by Dan Parsons in Nara Prefecture.