Japan, 19th c. 155x120x45 cm and 130x130x54 cm. Wood with red, brown and silver paint. Eyes inlaid in glass. Tail separately made. Damages due to age and cracks, restorations. (2) Provenance: German private collection, before Dan Kelly (1939-2002), castle Gymnich. The terms 'kara shishi' (lit. Chinese lion) and 'koma inu' (Korean dog) are nowadays used as synonyms. Traditionally a pair of shishi is positioned at the entrance of a Buddhist temple or Shintoist shrine as guards, like Ni? guardians. Earlier, in Heian period (794-1185) the two figure types were distinguised between the left figure as 'shishi' with open mouth (agy?), the right one as 'koma inu' with closed mouth (ungy?).