A closed mouth shisa.

Shīsā (シーサー) (Okinawan: siisaa) is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often found in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog. Many people put a pair of Shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. Shisa are wards, believed to protect from various evils. When found in pairs, the shisa on the right traditionally has an closed mouth, and the one on the left, a open mouth [1]. The open mouth to ward off evil spirits, and the closed mouth to keep good spirits in. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 1. ... Okinawan (Okinawan: Ê”ucināguci) is a Ryukyuan language spoken in Japan on the southern island of Okinawa, as well as the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kume-jima, Tonaki, Aguni, and a number of smaller islands located to the east of the main island of Okinawa. ... Ryukyuans (Japanese: 琉球民族, RyÅ«kyÅ« minzoku; Okinawan: ウチナンチュ, Uchinanchu) are the indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan between the islands of KyÅ«shÅ« and Taiwan. ...

Originally pairs like this were called "shisa and guardian dogs": the left with its mouth opened is the guardian, the right with its mouth closed is the shisa [2]. Some people believe that one is male and the other, female, and provide various justifications for which is which; for example, "the female has her mouth shut as she should" or "the male has his mouth shut to hold in all the family's good fortune". (Compare this to the distinction between male and female guardian lions in Chinese culture.) Categories: Fictional dogs | Stub ...

The shisa, like the koma-inu (lion dogs), is a variation of the guardian lions ("fu dogs") from China [3]. Categories: Fictional dogs | Stub ...

The Shisa Legend

(adapted from Legends of Okinawa by Chizue Sesoko)

Shisa statue from Miyako Island.

When a certain emissary to China returned from one of his voyages to the court at Shuri Castle, he brought with him as a gift for the king a necklace decorated with a small figurine of a shisa-dog. The king found it charming and wore it underneath his clothes. Now it happened that 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. 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. It is the "Gana-mui Woods" near Naha Ohashi bridge. The townspeople built a large stone shisa to protect it from the dragon's spirit and other threats. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 3008 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 3008 pixel, file size: 2. ... Miyako-jima (Miyako: mjaːku; Okinawan: naːku, mjaːku; Japanese: 宮古島) is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. ... The main building of Shuri Castle Shureimon Shuri Castle (Okinawan: sui ugusiku, Japanese: 首里城 Shurijo) is a gusuku (Ryukyuan castle) in Shuri, Okinawa. ... Naha (Japanese: ; -shi) is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. ... Japanese name Hiragana: KyÅ«jitai: Shinjitai: Korean name Hangul: Hanja: Thai name Thai: Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: Han Tu: The Chinese dragon is a mythical Chinese creature that also appears in other East Asian cultures, and is also sometimes called the Oriental (or Eastern) dragon. ... Ryukyuan religion is the indigenous belief system of the Uchinanchu people of Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands. ...

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.[4] Fēng Shuǐ (風水 – literally, wind and water pronounced fung shuway), which may be more than 3000 years old, is the ancient practice of placement to achieve harmony with the environment. ...

Shisa in popular culture

The 1974 tokusatsu kaiju film Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla features a giant shisa monster called King Shisa (transliterated as King Caesar or King Seezar in the U.S. release), who was awakened from its ancient slumber in Okinawa to help Godzilla destroy his mechanical doppelgänger, Mechagodzilla. This monster was later used in Godzilla: Final Wars as one of the monsters that were controlled by the Xilians. Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Icons of tokusatsu in the late 1970s: Spider-Man, Kamen Rider Stronger, Kamen Rider V3, Battle Fever J, Ultraman Jonias, as well as the manga and anime icon Doraemon Tokusatsu ) is a Japanese word that literally means special effects. ... KaijÅ« (怪獣) is a Japanese term that generically translates to monster. ... Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (also known as Godzilla vs the Bionic Monster, Godzilla vs the Cosmic Monster, and Gojira tai Mekagojira in the original Japanese) is a 1974 film. ... King Shisa ) is a bipedal kaiju from the Toho produced Godzilla series. ... King Caesar ) is a bipedal kaiju from the Toho produced Godzilla series. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... This article is about the character itself. ... For other uses, see Doppelgänger (disambiguation). ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ... Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) is the 50th anniversary film in the Godzilla series of films. ...

The Pokémon Growlithe and its evolution Arcanine are based on the shisa. The official Pokémon logo. ... Growlithe , Gardie in original Japanese language versions) is one of 493 fictional species of Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise. ... Arcanine , Windie in original Japanese language versions) is one of 493 fictional species of Pokémon in the Pokémon franchise. ...

The Digimon Seasarmon is based on a shisa, along with Chatsuramon. Digimon , short for デジタルモンスター dejitaru monsutā, Digital Monster) is a popular Japanese series of media and merchandise, including anime, manga, toys, video games, trading card games and other media. ... Seasarmon is a fictional character from the Digimon franchise, a Holy Beast Digimon. ... In the Digimon Tamers series, Chatsuramon is one of the twelve Devas that serve the Sovereign Zhuqiaomon. ...

Yoshiyuki Saito, a Japanese professional wrestler hailing from Okinawa, uses the mask and gimmick Super Shisa. He also has a young protegé named Shisa Boy and once formed a team with King Shisa (Pentagon Black). ... Wrestling masks are most widely used in the Mexican/Latin lucha libre style of wrestling. ... In professional wrestling, a gimmick is a wrestlers personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. ...

Megaman ZX Advent have two Shisa based Pseudoroids, Argoyle and Urgoyle, They work as a pair when fighting and become a playable form after being defeated. Mega Man ZX Advent, known in Japan as Rockman ZX Advent ), is the second installment of the Mega Man ZX series of Mega Man video games. ...

Bibliography

• Chizue, Sesoko. Legends of Okinawa. First publication, Okinawa, 1969.

See also

• Kara-shishi - Lions are often a complement to stone dogs in Japanese (but not necessarily Okinawan) symbolism.
• Tutelary
• Amulet
• Japanese sculpture
• Chinese art

A tutelary spirit is a god, usually a minor god, who serves as the guardian or watcher over a particular site, person, or nation. ... An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ... Japanese sculpture derived from Shinto funerary and Buddhist religious arts. ... Chinese Jade ornament with flower design, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), Shanghai Museum. ...

External links

• Okinawan Tourist Bureau's site describing the significance of the Shisa
• Stone Lion Dogs information