The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Pair of Guardian Animals: Karashishi and Komainu

Pair of Guardian Animals: Karashishi and Komainu

1300s
(1185–1333)
Wood with traces of color
Overall: 49.6 cm (19 1/2 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1924.351
Location: 235A Japanese

Description

Placed at the entrance to shrines and temples in Japan, guardian figures ward off evil spirits. These guardians used to be painted red and white and are distinguishable by their facial expressions: the open-mouthed animal is a karashishi, or “Chinese lion,” while the close-mouthed beast, which once had a single horn protruding from its head, is called a komainu, or “Korean dog.” The mouths correspond to infinity, the syllables ah (open) and um (closed), or the alpha and omega. This pairing was widespread in ancient times in Chinese territories and likely found its way to Japan via kingdoms in Korea.
  • ?–1924
    Kuroda Takuma 黒田太久馬 [1867–?], Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1924–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sizer, Theodore. “A Note on the Japanese Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 11, no. 9, 1924, pp. 174–175 and 187. Mentioned: pp. 174-175; Reproduced: p. 187 25136795
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 908 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 275 archive.org
    Mayuyama, Junkichi. Japanese Art in the West. [Tokyo]: Mayuyama & Co, 1966. Mentioned: p. 344; Reproduced: p. 49, pl. 61
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 275 archive.org
    Zenzo Shimizu 清水善三. "Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada," Ars Buddhica 佛教藝術, no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67-88. Reproduced: fig. 26
    Vilbar, Sinéad, and Kevin Gray Carr. Shinto: Discovery of the Divine in Japanese Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 150, no. 55
    Vilbar, Sinéad. "The Japanese Art Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1915-1951." In Great Waves & Mountains: Perspectives and Discoveries in Collecting the Arts of Japan. Natsu Oyobe, and Allysa B. Peyton, eds., 160–197. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2022. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 173, fig. 7.10
  • Shinto: Discovering the Divine in Japanese Art 神道－日本美術における神性の発見. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-June 30, 2019).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Pair of Guardian Animals: Karashishi and Komainu|url=false|author=|year=1300s|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1924.351