{"id":1659,"date":"2026-06-02T20:30:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/?page_id=1659"},"modified":"2026-06-02T20:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T20:42:18","slug":"shishi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/shishi\/","title":{"rendered":"Shishi"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-colibri-id=\"1659-c1\" class=\"style-930 style-local-1659-c1 position-relative\">\n  <!---->\n  <div data-colibri-component=\"section\" data-colibri-id=\"1659-c2\" id=\"initial-content\" class=\"h-section h-section-global-spacing d-flex align-items-lg-center align-items-md-center align-items-center style-931 style-local-1659-c2 position-relative\">\n    <!---->\n    <!---->\n    <div class=\"h-section-grid-container h-section-boxed-container\">\n      <!---->\n      <div data-colibri-id=\"1659-c3\" class=\"h-row-container gutters-row-lg-2 gutters-row-md-2 gutters-row-0 gutters-row-v-lg-2 gutters-row-v-md-2 gutters-row-v-2 style-932 style-local-1659-c3 position-relative\">\n        <!---->\n        <div class=\"h-row justify-content-lg-center justify-content-md-center justify-content-center align-items-lg-stretch align-items-md-stretch align-items-stretch gutters-col-lg-2 gutters-col-md-2 gutters-col-0 gutters-col-v-lg-2 gutters-col-v-md-2 gutters-col-v-2\">\n          <!---->\n          <div class=\"h-column h-column-container d-flex h-col-lg-auto h-col-md-auto h-col-auto style-933-outer style-local-1659-c4-outer\">\n            <div data-colibri-id=\"1659-c4\" class=\"d-flex h-flex-basis h-column__inner h-px-lg-2 h-px-md-2 h-px-2 v-inner-lg-2 v-inner-md-2 v-inner-2 style-933 style-local-1659-c4 position-relative\">\n              <!---->\n              <!---->\n              <div class=\"w-100 h-y-container h-column__content h-column__v-align flex-basis-100 align-self-lg-start align-self-md-start align-self-start\">\n                <!---->\n                <div data-colibri-id=\"1659-c5\" class=\"style-934 style-local-1659-c5 position-relative h-element\">\n                  <!---->\n                  <div>\n                    \n                    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">Standing before the Ichi no Torii (First Torii \/ \u4e00\u306e\u9ce5\u5c45), the entrance of the Hokushin-Jinja (Shrine of the North Star \/ \u5317\u8fb0\u795e\u793e), is a pair of stone shishi (lion-dogs \/ \u7345\u5b50), traditional guardian figures found at both Shint\u014d (Japan\u2019s native nature religion \/ \u795e\u9053) shrines and Bukky\u014d (Buddhist \/ \u4ecf\u6559) temples throughout Japan. Originating from ancient lion imagery transmitted from India through China and Korea, the shishi (lion-dogs \/ \u7345\u5b50) \u2014 also commonly referred to as komainu (Korean dogs \/ \u72db\u72ac) \u2014 have long been revered within the Shinbutsu-Sh\u016bg\u014d (syncretism of Shint\u014dism and Buddhism \/ \u795e\u4ecf\u7fd2\u5408) as protectors against evil influences, misfortune, and spiritual impurity. Positioned at entrances and sacred boundaries, they serve to guard the realm of the kami (deities \/ \u795e), butsu (buddhas \/ \u4ecf) and bosatsu (bodhisattvas \/ \u83e9\u85a9) while safeguarding those who enter with sincere hearts.<\/p>\n                    \n\n                    \n                    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">The pair at the Hokushin-Jinja are hand-carved from volcanic rock in an ancient style that preserves strong Chinese influences. Unlike the more familiar Japanese Edo-period (1603\u20131868) convention in which one shishi displays an open mouth and the other a closed mouth, both of these guardians possess open mouths, a feature commonly found in earlier Chinese and continental East Asian examples, which were also common in Japan during several periods. Their powerful forms and expressive features reflect a tradition that predates many of the stylistic developments that later became standard in Japan. Examples of such Chinese-influenced shishi (lion-dogs \/ \u7345\u5b50) can still be found at a number of important shrines and temples throughout Japan, including the famous Kiyomizu-dera (Pure Water Temple \/ \u6e05\u6c34\u5bfa) in Ky\u014dto.<\/p>\n                    \n\n                    \n                    <p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The presence of these guardians at the entrance to Hokushin-Jinja therefore not only fulfills their traditional protective function but also serves as a reminder of the rich cultural and artistic exchange through which many aspects of Japanese religious culture originally developed.<\/p>\n                    \n                  <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n              <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vor dem Ichi no Torii (Erstes Torii \/ \u4e00\u306e\u9ce5\u5c45), dem Eingang des Hokushin-Jinja [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1659","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1743,"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1659\/revisions\/1743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hokushin-jinja.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}