Explore everyday life in Japan
This is a lion-dog. Generally, these lion-dogs stand in pairs, one on each side of the walkway that leads up to a shrine, but they can be found in other places as well. They are meant to ward off evil spirits. Typically, one sits with its mouth open, while the other sits with its mouth shut. It is said that, together, the mouth positions of these lion-dogs produce the syllables of the sacred sound aum.
The lion-dogs in these pictures, stand along the pathways of Lion Hill, a small manmade hill in Hakusan Park, which is located in Niigata City, about half-way up the western coast of Honshu. This park claims to be the first park in all of Japan. It was established in 1872 by a samurai known as Masataka Kusumoto. If you ever find yourself in this park and want to experience some traditional Japanese culture, you should consider joining the tea ceremony that is held in one of the park's historical buildings. The procedures and etiquette of the tea ceremony are sure to baffle you.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting daily updates about life in Japan, please consider following me. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.