Dictionary

komainu en · NOUN

Etymology

From Japanese 狛犬 (komainu, “lion-dog”).

Meanings

1. Carved stone statues of stylized lions that guard the entrance to some Japanese temples or shrines.
   • The komainu can be traced to India and that culture’s stylized representations of the lion. 2015, Stan Sakai, The Usagi Yojimbo Saga. Volume 4, page 577:
   • The Buddhist priest Ryōtei declares that the komainu are lions, which came from Koma and were called dogs by Japanese because they did not know lions. 1909, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, page 60:

Forms

Synonyms

foo dog