komainu

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Okinawa, Japan: shisa

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An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

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A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000

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A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

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Super Typhoon Noru over the western tropical Pacific Ocean as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA Aqua satellite July 31 2017

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Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army

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Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that

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Thanksgiving Turkey with all the sides

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komainu

guardian diety

Also known as: Shisa

Learn about this topic in these articles:

ornamentation of Shintō shrine

In Shintō: Shintō religious arts
…of sacred stone animals called komainu (“Korean dogs”) or karajishi (“Chinese lions”) are placed in front of a shrine. Originally they served to protect the sacred buildings from evil and defilements. After the 9th century they were used for ornamental purposes on ceremonial occasions at the Imperial Court and later…
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