Komainu

In Japan, a pair of stone guardian dogs, usually in front of a temple or shrine, is called "Komainu".  They are usually placed at entrances to ward off evil spirits.  They look a bit like a dog with a lion's head.  Japanese lion dogs were originally seen in India.  They were later brought to China and then Korea and finally to Japan, where they began to be used in the early 1600's.

Today, they can be found almost anywhere in the world where Asians have settled, even in downtown Winnipeg.  I first saw two komainu in front of a small grocer store in Winnipeg's Chinatown, where I sometimes shop for difficult to find tools and ingredients that I use in my Chinese cooking.  That store is directly across the street from my favorite place for Sunday morning dim sum, at Kum Koon Garden.

My personal, living komainu, here at 43 Carbutt, is alive and well.  My bouvier, Holly, seems to serve the same purpose of warding off evil spirits.  Certainly, she has a ferocious bark and any one coming to my door when I'm not at home would, I believe, think twice about breaking-in, after hearing that bark.