Shisa (シーサー, Shīsā, Okinawan: shiisaa) is a traditional Ryukyuancultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils. People place pairs of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses, with the left shisa traditionally having a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth.[1] The open mouth shisa traditionally wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth shisa keeps good spirits in.
Like the komainu ("lion dogs"), the shisa are a variation of the guardian lions from China.[2] From the Edo period, they started to be called "guardian dogs" in general in mainland Japan.[3] Gender is variously assigned to the shisa. Some Okinawans believe the male has his mouth closed to keep bad out of the home, while the female has her mouth open to share goodness.[4] Others believe the female has her mouth closed to "keep in the good", while the male has his mouth open to "scare away the bad"[5] (Compare this to the distinction between male and female guardian lions in Chinese culture).
Legend
When a Chinese emissary returned from a voyage to the court at Shuri Castle, he brought a gift for the king, a necklace decorated with a figurine of a shisa. The king found it charming and wore it underneath his clothes. At the Naha Port bay, the village of Madanbashi was often terrorized by a sea dragon who ate the villagers and destroyed their property. One day, the king was visiting the village, and one of these attacks happened; all the people ran and hid. The local noro had been told in a dream to instruct the king when he visited to stand on the beach and lift up his figurine towards the dragon; she sent the boy, Chiga, to tell him the message. He faced the monster with the figurine held high, and immediately a giant roar sounded all through the village, a roar so deep and powerful that it even shook the dragon. A massive boulder then fell from heaven and crushed the dragon's tail, so that he couldn't move, and eventually died. This boulder and the dragon's body became covered with plants and surrounded by trees, and can still be seen today as the "Gana-mui Woods" near Naha Ohashi bridge. The townspeople then built a large stone shisa to protect it from the dragon's spirit and other threats.[6]
Great Stone Shisa at Tomimori
At Tomimori Village near Kochinda Town in the far southern part of Okinawa, there were often many fires. The people of the area sought out Saiouzui, a Feng Shui master, to ask him why there were so many fires. He believed they were because of the power of the nearby Mt. Yaese, and suggested that the townspeople build a stone shisa to face the mountain. They did so, and thus have protected their village from fire ever since.[7]
Bibliography
Chizue, Sesoko. Legends of Okinawa. First publication, in Okinawa, 1969.
Gallery
Stylised image of a shisa.
Varieties of shisa (excluding the dragon) at a shop.
Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many representations of Shisa
April 29, 2023
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Not to be confused with Shishi disambiguation Shisha or Shiso Shisa シーサー Shisa Okinawan shiisaa is a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions often seen in similar pairs resembling a cross between a lion and a dog from Okinawan mythology Shisa are wards believed to protect from some evils People place pairs of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses with the left shisa traditionally having a closed mouth the right one an open mouth 1 The open mouth shisa traditionally wards off evil spirits and the closed mouth shisa keeps good spirits in Tomori shisa Contents 1 History 2 Legend 3 Great Stone Shisa at Tomimori 4 Bibliography 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory Edit A pair of shisa one with mouth closed Like the komainu lion dogs the shisa are a variation of the guardian lions from China 2 From the Edo period they started to be called guardian dogs in general in mainland Japan 3 Gender is variously assigned to the shisa Some Okinawans believe the male has his mouth closed to keep bad out of the home while the female has her mouth open to share goodness 4 Others believe the female has her mouth closed to keep in the good while the male has his mouth open to scare away the bad 5 Compare this to the distinction between male and female guardian lions in Chinese culture Legend EditWhen a Chinese emissary returned from a voyage to the court at Shuri Castle he brought a gift for the king a necklace decorated with a figurine of a shisa The king found it charming and wore it underneath his clothes At the Naha Port bay the village of Madanbashi was often terrorized by a sea dragon who ate the villagers and destroyed their property One day the king was visiting the village and one of these attacks happened all the people ran and hid The local noro had been told in a dream to instruct the king when he visited to stand on the beach and lift up his figurine towards the dragon she sent the boy Chiga to tell him the message He faced the monster with the figurine held high and immediately a giant roar sounded all through the village a roar so deep and powerful that it even shook the dragon A massive boulder then fell from heaven and crushed the dragon s tail so that he couldn t move and eventually died This boulder and the dragon s body became covered with plants and surrounded by trees and can still be seen today as the Gana mui Woods near Naha Ohashi bridge The townspeople then built a large stone shisa to protect it from the dragon s spirit and other threats 6 Great Stone Shisa at Tomimori EditAt Tomimori Village near Kochinda Town in the far southern part of Okinawa there were often many fires The people of the area sought out Saiouzui a Feng Shui master to ask him why there were so many fires He believed they were because of the power of the nearby Mt Yaese and suggested that the townspeople build a stone shisa to face the mountain They did so and thus have protected their village from fire ever since 7 Bibliography EditChizue Sesoko Legends of Okinawa First publication in Okinawa 1969 Gallery Edit Stylised image of a shisa Varieties of shisa excluding the dragon at a shop Shisa in Nago Okinawa Prefecture More shop shisa Typical right side shisa A closed mouth left side shisa Open mouthed shisa on a traditional tile roof in Okinawa Prefecture Shisa statue from Miyako Island Shisa on vending machines The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology uses a stylised Shisa as its logo See also EditCarranca boat figurehead used in Brazil Chinese art Chinese guardian lions Chinese mythology in popular culture Japanese sculpture King Caesar originally King Shisa a kaiju Japanese giant monster inspired by the shisa Komainu lion like statues used in Shinto shrines Seasarmon Tutelary QilinReferences Edit Okinawa Shisa Travelogue Okinawa Prefectural Government Retrieved 2010 08 09 Okinawa Shisa Travelogue Okinawa Prefectural Government Archived from the original on 2009 10 09 Retrieved 2010 08 09 Okinawa Shisa Travelogue Okinawa Prefectural Government Archived from the original on 2009 10 08 Retrieved 2010 08 09 おきけん シーサー okiken com Archived from the original on 2011 10 09 Retrieved 2010 08 09 Titi28 seesaa net Adopted from Legends of Okinawa by Chizue Sesoko Okinawa Shisa Travelogue Okinawa Prefectural Government External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shisa Image of a shisaa Netsuke masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art fully available online as PDF which contains many representations of Shisa Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shisa amp oldid 1143705513, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
