Koma-Inu (Mouth Open); One of Pair

early 13th century

Many Shintō shrines have two statues of mythical lion-dogs standing at their entrance. One creature’s mouth is always open, while the other’s is closed. They serve the same purpose as images of Buddhist guardian deities: protecting the shrine from the forces of evil. This unusually early pair probably predates the practice of placing the beasts outside the door. With their wood bodies and painted surfaces (now largely worn away), they likely were made for display in a sheltered location.

These beasts are known in Japanese as koma-inu, or “Korean lions,” a name that acknowledges their foreign origins. The closest prototypes for the koma-inu are found in China, but the tradition of using lion-like figures as guardians can be traced to ancient India and Iran.