As we told you the other day, Japan is full of symbols and lucky charms. Some of them repreent animals, such as the Maneki-Neko.

Today, we present to you another one: the Shisa.

Used in decoration and usually in pairs, the Shisa is half lion, half dog. Most of the times, the couple is placed on the rooftop or before the house gate. These positions offer more protection and send away the evil spirits.

When in pairs, one Shisa has its mouth open, to scare evil spirits while the other Shisa has its mouth closed, to keep the good spirits in.

And just like almost every Japanese tradition, the Shisa also has a legend to explain its origin:

When a Chinese emissary returned from a voyage from the Shuri Castle, he brought a a necklace decorated with a figurine of a shisa-dog as a gift for the king The king liked it and wore it underneath his clothes.

The village of Madanbashi was often terrorized by a sea dragon that ate the villagers and destroyed their property.
One day, while the king visited the village, one of these attacks happened and everyone ran and hid. A local man had dreamed that the king should lift up his figurine towards the dragon, and asked a boy to deliver the message.

The king faced the monster with the figure held high, and immediately a great sound echoed all through the village. A massive boulder fell from heaven and crushed the dragon’s tail and he died.

This place exists to this date and it’s the “Gana-mui Woods”. The locals built a great Shisa dog to protect them from the dragon’s spirit and other threats.