KOMAINU
Japanese
creation date about 1450
period Muromachi
Komainu are lion-like guardian dogs usually placed at the entrances to temples and shrines. Koma is the Japanese name for Koguryo, an ancient Korean kingdom, and inu means dog. This indicates that the motif may have come to Japan from China via Korea. Technically, only an animal with the horned head and closed mouth is called komainu. This distinction was lost over time.