Meanings
plural komainus
- Carved stone statues of stylized lions that guard the entrance to some Japanese temples or shrines.
The komainu can be traced to India and that culture’s stylized representations of the lion.
2015, Stan Sakai, The Usagi Yojimbo Saga. Volume 4, page 5771 more example
The Buddhist priest Ryōtei declares that the komainu are lions, which came from Koma and were called dogs by Japanese because they did not know lions.
1909, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, page 60Synonyms: foo dog
Synonyms & antonyms
nounCarved stone statues of stylized lions that guard the entrance to some Japanese temples or shrines.
Origin
- Japanese狛犬“lion-dog”
- Englishkomainu
From Japanese 狛犬 (komainu, “lion-dog”).
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
komainu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/komainu
“komainu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/komainu. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “komainu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/komainu.
Source: komainu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.