Lion-Dog Statues

The Blue Lion-Dog Statue and the Red Lion-Dog Statue are unique Spirits in Yomawari: Midnight Shadows.

## Appearances

The two Lion-Dog Statues are identical statues of a lion-dog sitting on top of a stone box with a written plaque.

Based on how traditional lion-dog statues are made in China (which is where Japan got its idea of having lion-dog statues), the Blue Lion-Dog Statue is suppose to be made of marble or iron while the Red Lion-Dog Statue is suppose to be made of granite or bronze. In Chinese tradition, the blue and red colors are meant to represent "yin and yang".

Though the two statues don't appear to have anything on their front paws visually, the game describes them having a small hole in their front paws at first. For the Blue Lion-Dog Statue, the hole is meant to be filled with a smaller Blue Lion-dog statue. For the Red Lion-Dog Statue, the hole is meant to be filled by a Round Red Rock. Based on traditional Chinese lion-dog statues, the Blue Lion-Dog Statue must be female since it has the cub and the cub must be under its left paw. And as for the Red Lion-Dog Statue, it must be male since it has the rock which suppose to represent a type of cloth ball called an "embroidered ball" (or a toy known as "Temari") and the ball must be under its right paw.

Also according to tradition, one of the Lion-Dog Statues is suppose to have its mouth open while the other is meant to have its mouth closed.

When the statues kill off the Ogre Head Spirit, a crunching sound is heard red blood is spilling from their mouths and dripping onto the front of their front paws, which suggests they devour the Spirit.

## Behaviour

The two Lion-Dog Statues are stationary and harmless. Initially, they appear to be ordinary statues. However, they are meant to be used to ward off evil spirits, and there is a notice in Haru's Town that notifies people to not mess with the statues. So if Haru helps the two Lion-Dog Statues by returning their missing Blue Lion-Dog and Round Red Rock to their respective owners, they will help Haru in return by devouring the Ogre Head Spirit if it gets close to them. Once both statues kill the Spirit, they will give Haru a Lion-dog Set as a charm to ward off evil spirits away from her.

## Mythology and Theories

Lion-Dog statues, called Shisa and Komainu, are used in Asian countries like Japan and China as a means of protecting places like temples and shrines in their religions or cultures. For these places, they are usually protected by a pair of Lion-Dog statues, one male and one female. These two would represent yin (female) and yang (male).

In the past, Shisa and Komainu in Japan were differentiated in many ways. Komainu had wavy hair, a horn on their forehead, and a closed mouth. Meanwhile, Shisa had spiral-curly hair, no horns, and an opened mouth. Nowadays, the two mostly became the same thing. They have identical appearance with curly hair and no horns. The only difference between them is that Komainu have a closed mouth and Shisa have an opened mouth. Nevertheless, they are treated as the same thing.

The male Lion-Dog statue would have a ball on his right paw. This would symbolize 'supremacy', as the ball represents a 'globe' or the 'world' while the male Lion-Dog statue would represent 'God'.

The female Lion-Dog statue would have a cub on her left paw. This would symbolize natural harmony or nurture, as this represents a mother caring for her child.

## Gallery

The Blue Lion-Dog Statue on the Northeast area.The Red Lion-Dog Statue on the Southwest area.The Blue Lion-Dog Statue after killing the Ogre Head Spirit.The Red Lion-Dog Statue after killing the Ogre Head Spirit.
## Trivia

* The Blue Lion-Dog Statue and the Red Lion-Dog Statue are heavily based after the mythology of the lion-dog statues of China because Japan got the idea of using the lion-dog statues from China itself.
* Traditionally in front of buildings, the male Lion-Dog Statue with the ball is placed on the left while the female Lion-Dog Statue with the cub is placed on the right. It matches the tradition in-game as the Red Lion-Dog Statue (male) is on the lower left area of the map while the Blue Lion-Dog Statue (female) is on the upper right area of the map.