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Buddhist Temple and Shinto Shrine Guardian Figures

Tourists to Japan can visit many of its thousands of Buddhist temples and Shintō shrines. Both have variations in their beliefs. Something common to most of them is a pair of statues that flank entrances. These are guardian figures, intended to ward off evil. There are several different types of guardian figures. Each has special significance in Japanese culture. Many Buddhist temples have large, fierce-looking, human-like figures. Shintō guardian figures are mostly animals. Though Buddhism and Shintōism are officially separate religions, some locations are associated with both. Many Japanese subscribe to both belief systems.

Ni-ō

These large figures, some as much as 26-feet tall, guard many Buddhist temples from evil spirits, demons, and human robbers. They are known in Japan as ni-ō or niōmon. Ni-ō literally means two kings. Originating in India, they were based on powerful protectors that were supposed to have accompanied Buddha on his travels.

Some scholars believe that the Greek myth of Hercules, brought to India by Alexander the Great or travelers on the silk road, provided the inspiration for their appearance.  As can be seen from the bare torsos in the ni-ō photos below, many are extremely muscular. Some are clad in armor instead. Aside from fierce expressions, threatening postures, and something called aun, there is no fixed appearance for ni-ō.

Note that the figure on the right has his mouth open, and the one on the left has his mouth closed. In Japan, this is known as aun. The beginning "a" is the first syllable in the gojuon, the Japanese syllabary, and is spoken with the mouth open. The "un" stands for the last syllable in the gojuon, and is spoken with the mouth closed. Symbolically, aun represents the beginning and the end, birth and death, alpha and omega, or all possible outcomes.

Inari can be good or evil. Evil Inari can change from their normal foxlike form to that of a beautiful woman or priest to trick humans. White or good Inari are the messengers of the Gods and are associated with rice, tea, and sake. Statues of Inari are the guardians at the entrance of some shrines. In the Shintō religion, red is the color of the gods. The red bib on Inari statues helps ward off disease and malevolent energy.

Ōkami

Mitsumine Shrine in Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park in Saitama Prefecture is dedicated to the homage of Ōguchi-no-magami, a wolf kami. According to Kojiki (712 A.D.), Japan's earliest chronical, the shrine was established around 150 AD. It has long been a pilgrimage destination, especially during the Edo period (1603 - 1868). Ōkami, extinct Japanese wolves, were supposed to protect against a host of evils.  In the photo below, a pair of ōkami statues can be seen flanking the gate into the shrine.

This is a close-up of an ōkami statue inside the shrine; not one of the ones seen above. The red bib serves the same function as it does on Inari statues.

Tenjin

Tenjin is the Shintō god of academics, scholarship, learning, and of the intelligentsia. He is supposed to be the deified form of Sugawara no Michizane (845 – 903), a famous scholar, poet and politician of the Heian period who, for political reasons, was banished to Kyushu. After his death, his body was carried on the back of an ox until the animal could go no further and collapsed. Michizane was buried on that spot, and a shrine, Dazaifu Tenmangu, was raised in his honor. The shrine still exists today, and numerous others dedicated to Tenjin now exist around Japan, too. The oxen is the totem of these temples. It is said that if you rub the statue, you will gain wisdom. Look at how the nose is a different color from the rest of the statue in the photo below. Tenjin shrines are popular destinations for school outings.

Sarugami

Shintō Hie shrines are dedicated to Sannō, the deity from Mount Hiei (near Kyoto). These shrines have monkey-like guardian figures called sarugami. Sarugami were once feared. Interactions between them and humans almost always ended in violence. Today, they are considered to be patrons of fertility, harmonious marriage, and safe childbirth.

Sarugami are also patrons of the three wise monkeys; mizaru, kekazaru, and iwazaru (see no evil, hear no evil, and say no evil).

Shishi

The most common guardian figures at the entrances to Shintō shrines are shishi. They guard many Buddhist temples, too, though ni-ō are more common there. Shishi have magical properties and the power to repel evil spirits. Like ni-ō and other guardian figures, they are come in pairs positioned at both sides of temple and shrine entrances.

Note the open mouth on the righthand figure and the closed mouth on the lefthand figure, denoting aun; the same as ni-ō.

More formal names for the figures are kara-shishi or Chinese lion for the open mouthed figure on the right and koma-inu or Korean dog for the closed mouth figure on the left. The pictures below clarifies the difference between the two.

Artwork

Kanō Eitoku (1543 – 1590)

Eitoku was the great grandson of Kanō Masanobu, the founder of the Kanō school of art. His grandfather, Kanō Motonobu, became the official court painter of the Ashikaga shogunate in 1481 and firmly established the Kanō school as one of the most prestigious and long lasting in Japanese history. Eitoku's artistic talent was recognized early. He mastered his grandfather's style and went on to make several of his own stylistic contributions to Japanese art, creating what is known today as the monumental style (taiga). His patrons included the great warlords, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Eitoku's 6-fold byōbu, Chinese Guardian Lions, is one of Japan's greatest art treasures. It resides in the Museum of the Imperial Collections.

Kanō Tanshin (1653 – 1718)

Tanshin was the son of the great master, Kanō Tan'yu. By this time, the Kanō school had divided. Tanshin became the head of the Kajibashi branch. Kanō school masters were being criticized for their copycat style. The Tosa school was a major competitor of the Kanō school. Influenced by Tosa school styles, Tanshin became known for applying nature as a model. Though Tanshin's shishi below is still pretty exotic, its setting shows this influence.

Nagasawa Rosetsu (1754 – 1799) 

Born into a low-ranking samurai family, Rosetsu studied art under Maruyama Ōkyo. Critics believe he quickly surpassed his master. After the two parted, the daimyō of Yodo became Rosetsu's patron, and he acquired commissions from several temples. The shishi on the 6-fold byōbu below is remarkably intense. It is also unlike anything else Rosetsu did, leading some to believe that it is not Rosetsu's work, though it is signed with his name. Gold leaf was added after the original painting was done, and Rosetsu's signature is on top of the leaf. The pose is almost identical to one of the figures in Kanō Eitoku's painting, suggesting that it may have been Rosetsu's model.

Katsushika Hokusai (1760 – 1849)

Hokusai is best known for his many landscape ukiyo-e, the most famous of which was the series Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji. (The series was extended to 46.) His influence on art around the world just with his ukiyo-e has been immense. But Hokusai painted much more than ukiyo-e. In his lifetime, he produced over 30,000 prints, paintings, sketches, and book images of all sorts. The artwork by him below is a detail from a hanging scroll titled Shōki Riding a Shishi Lion (1844). Shōki is the Japanese name for a figure from Chinese mythology; a hunter of ghosts and evil beings. His popularity has waned today, but during Japan's Edo period, people would hang images of Shōki outside their homes to ward off evil spirits during the Boys' Day festival (Tango no Sekku). Boys' Day has morphed into today's Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi), celebrated every May 5th. That makes this a fitting time of year to show this painting of Hokusai's.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 – 1858)

Hiroshige was another famous landscape ukiyo-e artist, and like Hokusai, he, too, painted much more than just his landscape prints. In the print below, a mother shishi has just thrown her cub off of a cliff. A Chinese proverb calls this a test of the strength and stamina of shishi cubs. Only those able to climb back up are accepted.

Yamamoto Shōun (1870 – 1965)

Shōun was born into a family that were retainers of the shōgun. He initially trained as a  painter in the Kanō school, but later studied nanga (southern school) art in Tōkyō. At age 20, he was employed as an illustrator for a pictorial magazine. Later on, he produced paintings for prints. His favorite subjects were bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful people). Shōun is considered to be a bridge artist between ukiyo-e and shin-hanga. The print below features a new year's day shishi mai (shishi dance). The idea is similar to dragon dances except that shishi dolls were used instead.