Shisa: the paired lion figures as house guardians of Okinawa

Shisa are guardian figures from Okinawa, an island group in the south of Japan. They have the shape of a lion-like being that stands between a lion and a dog.

Shisa almost always appear as a pair. Two figures together watch over a house, a gate, or a roof. One figure has an open mouth, the other a closed one.

Okinawa has its own history and its own culture. The island group long belonged to a kingdom of its own and stands between the influences of Japan and China. The Shisa belong to this distinct culture of Okinawa.

As guardians, the Shisa are meant to ward off misfortune and to preserve the good. They are set up in elevated and threshold-like places, from which they overlook the house.

In religious studies, the Shisa are a good example of paired guardian figures. They belong to a widespread family of lion guardians that occur in many cultures of East Asia.

This page deals with the Shisa as protective figures. They stand alongside other house guardians, such as the lion-like stone figures at Japanese shrines and the Korean guardian beings.

The Shisa have the shape of a lion-like being. It is not an exact depiction of a lion, but a being of its own, a hybrid creature with leonine and dog-like traits.

Characteristic are the powerful, stocky body, a full mane, a broad mouth, and large, watchful eyes. The expression of the Shisa is usually forceful and resolute, sometimes also cheerful.

The Shisa are made from various materials. Common are figures of fired clay, of stone, and of glazed stoneware. Their coloring ranges from plain earth tones to vivid colors.

The most important feature of a pair of Shisa is the differing position of the mouths. One figure has its mouth wide open, the other holds it closed.

These differing mouths are interpreted in various ways. A widespread reading says that the open figure wards off misfortune, while the closed figure holds the good and the good fortune fast within the house.

The two figures thus complement each other. Only together, the one that wards off and the one that preserves, do they form the complete guardian pair. A single figure is considered incomplete.

Appearing as a pair is essential for the Shisa. They are almost never set up singly, but always in twos.

The two figures of a pair differ above all in the mouth. The figure with the open mouth is often interpreted as the male and the one with the closed mouth as the female, yet the interpretations are not the same everywhere.

More important than the precise assignment is the idea of complementarity. The two figures fulfill two different, mutually complementing tasks. One wards off, the other preserves.

The idea of the complementary pair is widespread in East Asia. It stands in connection with the notion of two opposing yet belonging-together forces that together form the whole.

The open and the closed mouth are also interpreted in this sense. They are meant to represent an opening and a closing sound and thereby to encompass the whole between beginning and end.

The pair of Shisa thus watches over a house from two sides. It wards off misfortune and at the same time holds the good fast. The meaning of the pair lies in this double, mutually complementing task.

The most important task of the Shisa is guarding the house. They are guardian figures meant to protect the house and its inhabitants.

The Shisa have their best-known place on the roof. There, at the highest point of the house, they overlook the surroundings and ward off the misfortune that might approach the house.

Shisa often also stand in pairs at the gates and at the entrances. At this threshold, the transition from outside to inside, they guard the most important access to the house.

Larger Shisa figures are found in front of public buildings and at the entrances of villages. In that case they guard not a single house, but a larger area.

The protection of the Shisa is directed against misfortune and harmful powers of every kind. On an island group repeatedly struck by storms, they were also invoked against fire and against severe weather.

The Shisa are thus comprehensive house guardians. From the roof and from the gate they keep watch, ward off misfortune, and place the house under their constant protection.

The Shisa have a long history that reaches back into the kingdom that existed on Okinawa before the island group came to Japan.

This kingdom maintained lively connections with China and with other countries of East Asia. Through these connections the notion of the lion-like guardian came to Okinawa.

The lion is known across large parts of Asia as a guardian figure, although there were no lions there. The image of the lion traveled along trade routes and through religion and was everywhere reinterpreted as a guardian.

On Okinawa, the distinct Shisa emerged from this image. It took on the traits of a guardian oriented toward protecting the houses and villages of the island group.

At first, large stone Shisa figures were common, guarding entire villages and structures. Only over time did the smaller figures appear that guard individual houses and their roofs.

The history of the Shisa thus shows a migration. The image of the lion guardian traveled from afar to Okinawa and there became a distinct figure firmly bound up with the island culture.

The Shisa belong to a large family. Throughout East Asia, lion-like guardian figures are widespread, and the Shisa are their expression on Okinawa.

In China, lion-like figures stand as a pair in front of temples, gates, and buildings. They too appear in twos, and with them too the figures are distinguished in various ways.

In Japan, lion-like stone figures often stand before the shrines. They too form a pair with an open and a closed mouth and guard the access to the sacred area.

Korea likewise knows lion-like guardian beings that are meant to ward off misfortune and especially fire. On the page about the Korean Haetae, such a being is described in more detail.

The same basic idea underlies all of these figures. The lion, the mighty, fear-inspiring animal, becomes a guardian that deters misfortune and guards the access to a house or a sacred place.

The Shisa are the expression of this idea on Okinawa. Their distinctive feature is the place on the roof of the dwelling house and the close connection with the distinct culture of the island group.

The Shisa cannot be understood without the special rank of the lion. In many cultures the lion is regarded as a powerful, protective animal.

The lion stands for strength, for power, and for fearlessness. As the king among the animals, it is a symbol of superior force. This force makes it a fitting guardian.

It is notable that the lion was revered as a guardian in East Asia even though there were no wild lions there. The image of the lion was a traveling image, spread along the trade routes and through religion.

Because the actual lion was unknown, distinct, modified lion forms arose. The Shisa are one such form, a lion-like being that embodies the notion of a guardian lion.

The idea behind it is the deterring effect. A mighty, fear-inspiring animal is meant to keep misfortune away by its mere appearance. The Shisa ward off by radiating strength and watchfulness.

The Shisa thus belong to the protective figures that work through the image of a powerful animal. The lion, the fearless king of the animals, lends them its deterring force.

Beyond their task as guardians, the Shisa have become a sign of Okinawa itself. They belong inseparably to the image of the island group.

On Okinawa, Shisa can be seen almost everywhere. They stand on the roofs of houses, at the gates, in front of buildings, and at the entrances of villages. They shape the image of the islands.

The making of the Shisa is a craft of its own on Okinawa. In the workshops of the island group, the figures are made from clay and stone, and each craftsperson gives them their own expression.

The Shisa are thus at once a protective figure and an expression of local art. In them, the old idea of the guardian is combined with the craft tradition of Okinawa.

As a sign of Okinawa, the Shisa also have a connecting meaning. They stand for the distinct history and the distinct culture of the island group, which differs from that of the Japanese mainland.

The Shisa are thus more than guardian figures. They are a sign of Okinawa’s belonging and independence, and their protection is bound up with this local rootedness.

The Shisa are ubiquitous in present-day Okinawa. On the roofs, at the gates, and in front of the houses, they guard the dwellings of the people unchanged.

Beyond Okinawa, the Shisa have become a well-known sign. As a keepsake, as a figure, and as an ornament, they are valued and collected outside the island group as well.

For many people, the Shisa today are associated less with a strictly worked-out belief than with a cultivated tradition and a sense of connection with Okinawa. A pair of Shisa on the house is part of the familiar scene.

The making of the Shisa has remained a living craft. In the workshops of the island group, figures continue to be created, from small keepsakes to large guardians for roofs and gates.

A factual account names the Shisa for what they are: paired guardian figures in lion form, meant to ward off misfortune and to preserve the good. An effect beyond this cannot be demonstrated.

The Shisa thus remain a living sign of Okinawa. In them are combined the traveling image of the lion guardian, the idea of the complementary pair, and the wish to guard one’s own house from roof and gate.