When you visit Nishinomiya Shrine, you’ll see a magnificent pair of komainu guardian dogs standing on the left and right in front of the main hall.
The komainu on the right as you face the shrine
Its mouth is openI’m also curious about the horse behind it that looks ready to start running at any moment…
The komainu on the left as you face the shrine
It has such a brave-looking presenceThere’s a horse behind this one too (^ ^)
Wha…! No way!
This komainu has a horn!
And I love how it looks like I’d lose if I tried to have a staring contest with it (^O^)／
Komainu were originally made of wood because they were displayed indoors, but once they started being placed outside, they changed to stone.
Apparently, the current komainu at Nishinomiya Shrine, with their horns and impressive tails, are made of bronze!
The original roots of komainu seem to come from the practice of placing two lions in front of Buddhist statues.
The one on the left was a komainu, and the one on the right was a lion. Both are imaginary creatures, but it seems komainu originally had horns (^ ^)
If you’d like to learn more about komainu, check out the Kyoto National Museum website or the Nara Prefecture Historical and Cultural Resources Database.
Please take a look (^ ^)
Right now, I’m observing the komainu at shrines around Nishinomiya (^O^)／
The komainu featured in “We visited Uegahara Hachiman Shrine, home to the oldest torii gate in Nishinomiya” had a tiny little horn too!
If you know of any unusual komainu in Nishinomiya, please let us know.
