“Shīsā”: Guardian Deities of Okinawa

A roof-top ceramic shīsā wards off evil.

Okinawa Culture Center, with Okinawa World theme park. Three shīsā welcome visitors.

Ryūkyū Kingdom Castle Town features relocated traditional homes that are registered as tangible cultural property of Japan.

A ceramic shīsā. Each figure displays its own character and charm.

A display at the Okinawa Culture Center.

Some shīsā display human-like facial expressions.

A display shows miyajishi, left, and murajishi.

The stone lion of Tomori stands near the ruins of the castle Jirigusuku.

Bullet holes attest to the fierce battle that took place here during World War II.

Okinawa World sells a wide variety of souvenir shīsā.

The theme park offers a pottery experience, where visitors can make their own shīsā.

A pair of lion figures from China, both with their mouths open. The figurine on the left is male, indicated by the jewel it holds, and the female is on the right, holding its cub.

Modern shīsā pairs often display the open-closed mouth design combined with the jewel-cub motif.

The giant Tsuboya-ware shīsā near Makishi Station of Okinawa’s Yui Rail in Naha holds a jewel.

Shishiku-no-Tō monument. The middle shīsā was crafted by renowned Tsuboya-ware potter Arakaki Mitsuo.

The woman in the foreground gives an idea of the size of the Zanpa shīsā.