Shisa

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

Shisa on traditional tiled roof

A shisa (シーサー) is a traditional Okinawan decoration. Many people put a pair of shisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses. A shisa is said to be a fanciful sculpture of a lion.

Links to an Okinawan page in English describing Shisa in context:

http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/011/english/roots/okinawa/ro01/ro01.html