Shachihoko

Shachihoko

In Japanese folklore, a nihongo|shachihoko|鯱|shachihoko is an animal with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with nihongo|shibi|鴟尾|shibi in this shape, in order to protect them from fire.

The above kanji can be pronounced in two different ways. When pronounced "shachihoko", it refers to the mystical animal mentioned above. When pronounced "shachi", it means grampus; a dolphin or orca. This is a source of confusion, even among the Japanese.

The folklore is derived from Makara of Hindu mythology.

References

Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent Japanese-language article, accessed April 1, 2006.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Yakitate!! Japan — These hands are warmer than normal human hand temperature, and allow the dough to ferment faster. This gives him some advantage at the beginning of the series, but his innovation and many Ja pans are his greater talents.Although the story has… …   Wikipedia

  • Dragon Gate — This article is about the Japanese wrestling promotion. For the American branch of DRAGON GATE, see Dragon Gate USA. For the computer game, please see Dragon s Gate. Dragon Gate Acronym DG Founded …   Wikipedia

  • Chiwen — (Chinese: 螭吻; pinyin: chīwěn; Wade–Giles: ch ih wen; literally hornless dragon mouth ) is one of the Nine Young Dragons in Imperial roof decorations and an ornamental motif in traditional Chinese architecture and art. This Chinese dragon name… …   Wikipedia

  • Yakitate!! Ja-pan — Yakitate!! Japan 焼きたて!! ジャぱん (Freshly Baked!! Ja Pan) Type Shōnen Genre Comédie, cuisine Manga Auteur Takashi Hashiguchi Éditeur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nagoya — For the small town in Batam, Indonesia, see Nagoya, Batam. Nagoya 名古屋   Designated city   名古屋市 · City of Nagoya[1] …   Wikipedia

  • Nagoya Grampus — 名古屋グランパス Full name Nagoya Grampus Eight Nickname(s) Grampus Founded 1983 (as Nagoya FC) …   Wikipedia

  • List of legendary creatures by type — This is a list of legendary creatures from mythology, folklore and fairy tales, sorted by their classification or affiliation. Creatures from modern fantasy fiction and role playing games are not included. Contents 1 Angels 2 Artificial creatures …   Wikipedia

  • Nobuhiko Oshima — Ring name(s) CIMA[1] Shiima Nobunaga[1] SHIIMA …   Wikipedia

  • Kamen Rider Series — The nihongo|Kamen Rider Series|仮面ライダーシリーズ|Kamen Raidā Shirīzu|extra=translated as Masked Rider Series is the overall name of a franchise of Japanese tokusatsu. The franchise began in 1971 with a show titled Kamen Rider which followed college… …   Wikipedia

  • Animal Yokochō — Infobox animanga/Header name = Animal Yokochō caption = Iyo the rabbit, Kenta the bear, Issa the panda ja name = アニマル横町 ja name trans = Animal Alley genre = ComedyInfobox animanga/Manga title = author = Ryo Maekawa publisher = flagicon|Japan… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”