Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Shisa (Japanese: シーサー, Hepburn: shīsā, Okinawan: シーサー, romanized: 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.
The street features many gift shops selling Okinawan products that range from stone Shisa dogs - traditional statues placed on the roofs of many Okinawan homes, Awamori, a traditional Okinawan alcohol, [4] various foods, colored Ryukyu glassware, Kariyushi shirts (similar to Hawaiian shirts) and geta clogs. [2]
Kariyushi shirts manufactured in Okinawa for local Okinawan residents are usually adorned with characteristic Okinawan designs found in traditional Okinawan arts, shisa temple guardian designs, and simple floral patterns in muted colors. They are often used to promote tourism in Okinawa, and have been established in replacing the standard white ...
A shisa statue placed on a roof. The kijimunaa (or bunagaya) is one of the most famous of Okinawa's magical creatures. A sprite (Japanese yōsei), the kijimunaa resembles a short young boy and features bright red hair. [10] They look somewhat like a Troll doll. Some say that only children or the pure of heart can see the kijimunaa.
In 1954, Jirō Kinjō, a potter from Tsuboya, became the first Okinawan to be named a Living National Treasure. In addition to dishes, vessels, and roof tiles, Ryukyuan pottery is especially known for the production of funerary urns, and shisa, lion-like guardians placed on rooftops and at gates to protect homes and other spaces from evil spirits.
The shīsā (シーサー), the stone animals that in Okinawa guard the gates or the roofs of houses, are close relatives of the shishi and the komainu, objects whose origin, function and symbolic meaning they share. [21] Their name itself is centuries old regional variant of shishi-san (獅子さん, lit. ' Mr. Lion '). [5]
Shop the best New Year's Amazon deals for big savings on Apple, Ninja, Keurig and more. See all deals. In Other News. Entertainment. Entertainment. People.
Shisa statues can often be seen on or in front of houses—this relates to the ancient Ryukyuan belief that the male spirit is the spirit of the outside and the female spirit is the spirit of the inside. Godhood is mimicked with many attributes, and its in ease without any underlying symbolic order.