bakuhana 獏鼻

Lit. tapir nose. Also called bakugashira 獏頭. A type of nosing *kibana 木鼻, based on a tapir's pointed nose. Over time it became a stylized amalgamation of the tapir and the face, nose, and tusks of an elephant. From a frontal view it sometimes looks like a human face. It was popular from the 17th-19th century. One example is found on the 17th-century front gate Omotemon 表門 at Nikkō Tōshōgū 日光東照宮 in Tochigi Prefecture.