Keywords
Art History
Sculpture
A decoration in the form of a lion's head *shigami 獅噛, found on the belt of sculpted armored figures. A fierce animal head forming a buckle, shown as if biting on the front of the belt, found on ancient Chinese armor. It symbolized the courage and strength of a lion, and was used on Buddhist guardian figures *ten 天. A good example can be seen on the Bishamontenzō 毘沙門天像 in Kanzeonji 観世音寺, Fukuoka Prefecture.