Search Results for: Animals castoreum
different and be called differently. one had its mouth open and was called shishi (獅子, lion) because, as before, it resembled that animal. the other had its mouth closed, looked rather like a dog, was called komainu, or " goguryeo dog", and sometimes had a single horn on its head. [ ] gradually the animals
this reason it was habitually used to guard gates and doors. in japan, too it ended up being installed at the entrance of shrines and temples next to the lion-dog. [ ] as a protection against exposure to japan's rainy weather, the komainu started being carved in stone. the shīsā (シーサー), the stone animals...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komainu