Shisa

 This entry is going to show the Japanese art and figurines I have in my house here at Tucson. These are figurines that my family has been collecting for several years. A large amount are Okinawan, but there are a handful that are from mainland Japan. These figurines represent a history and growth/evolution of the Japanese and Okinawan cultures.

 Though these dolls look like Japan dolls, they are actually Okinawan. The difference is largely in the clothing. It is slightly hard to notice but the dolls are wearing the Okinawan bingata instead of the Japanese kimono. The colors, patterns, and style of wearing the clothes is different then Japanese kimonos. Another thing is the hair style. Japan had a more "European inspired pompadour" rolled hair style, where the Okinawan women had more of a twisted bun.

These are the display shelves we have in our house. They are filled with figurines of Okinawan and Japanese origin. Hanging on the wall is a black bingata cloth, handmade and very expensive and difficult to create, this is a traditional Okinawan floral design.

These figurines are Japanese in origin. The top shelf is filled with the Emperor and Empress dolls, usually only brought out in Japan for girl's day, but we display them year round because we have no room to place the actual girl's day dolls (they're rather large and there are a lot of pieces). There is also a pole with fish kites which is usually for kid's day in Japan, and a cartoon-ish samurai figurine.

There are sitting cats on the top shelf (no significance to Japanese culture, but they were made there.) Underneath there are monkeys, stuffed animals representing a few of the animals in the Chinese calendar, which the Japanese use, and an owl figure that was also purchased in Japan.

These are Okinawan figurines. The two figures in the back (a whale shark and a manta ray) were painted by my sister and I. They are some of the many animals in the waters around Okinawa. The 5 clay figures in the front are all a variety of shisa figures. Shisa's are a combination of lion,dog, and a little bit dragon. They are influenced by Japan, China, and Korean dragon dog figures. They are placed on roofs and gates and inside home in Okinawa and are used to ward of negative and evil spirits.

All the figures you see are shisa figurines. As you can see, in the current day, many shisa are available, from the traditional tough and ferocious ones, to cuter and more friendly shisa. There are also shisa that are drunk or playing the Okinawan instrument, the sanshin.

On the top of the shelf are two of the traditional Okinawan shisa figures. They are ceramic and the one with the open mouth is male and the other is female. They almost always come in pairs. Some of the other figurines (more modern) have writing on them. This is Japanese, but it says "It will be what it will be" in the traditional language of Okinawa, Hogen.

The three large shisa on the bottom were all created by my mom, my sister, and I. We molded them, created them, and then painted them. It was time consuming but very worth it.

More modern shisa figurines. There are a lot of them.

Even more shisa. It can be hard to pick a favorite because there are so many different styles and designs nowadays. Back then, it was only the tough ferocious looking ones.

The final shelf, full of adorable and modern shisa. Did you have a favorite one?