Komainu statue at Ōe Jinja

Komainu statue at Ōe Jinja

Description

Title:
Komainu statue at Ōe Jinja
Caption / Description:

A Komainu (狛犬) lion statue guarding the bottom of the steps up to Oe Shrine (大江神社; Ōe Jinja), in Osaka city, Japan.

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komainu):

Komainu (狛犬・胡麻犬), often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine itself, where they are not visible to the public. The first type, born during the Edo period, is called sandō komainu (参道狛犬 visiting road Korean dogs), the second and much older type jinnai komainu (陣内狛犬 shrine inside komainu). They can sometimes be found also at Buddhist temples, nobility residences or even private homes

Ubiquitous as they are now at shrines, Komainu have been used outdoors only since the 14th century. In Asia the lion was popularly believed to have the power to repel evil, and for this reason it was habitually used to guard gates and doors. In Japan too it ended up being installed at the entrance of shrines and temples next to the lion-dog. Being exposed to Japan's rainy weather, the pair started being carved in stone.

Tags / Keywords:
  • Asia
  • Shrine
  • Japan
  • 日本国
  • Nihon-koku
  • Kansai region
  • 関西地方
  • Kansai-chihō
  • Osaka prefecture
  • 大阪府
  • Ōsaka-fu
  • Osaka city
  • 大阪市
  • Ōsaka-shi
  • 神社
  • Jinja
  • Kinki region
  • 近畿地方
  • Kinki-chihō
  • Temple
  • Shinto
  • 神道
  • Lion-dog
  • Komainu
  • 狛犬
  • Guardian statue
  • Lion statue
  • shishi
  • 獅子
  • Tennoji-ku
  • 天王寺区
  • Oe Shrine
  • 大江神社
  • Ōe Jinja

Admin

Date Original Photo Taken:
Original File Name:
_DSC1017a.nef
Event:
Rating:
Date this image added/last updated on website:
Original File Dimensions:
2592px x 3872px
File Type:
JPEG
Color Mode:
Original Image Color Profile:
Nikon Adobe RGB 4.0.0.3001

Location

Location Shown:
Sublocation:
Ōe shrine
City:
Osaka
Province/State:
Osaka prefecture
Country:
Japan
World Region:
Asia
Location Created:
Sublocation:
Ōe shrine
City:
Osaka
Province/State:
Osaka prefecture
Country:
Japan
World Region:
Asia
Geo-location:
34.65718, 135.51118166667 View on map

Rights

Copyright Status:
Copyrighted
Licensing Status:
Rights Managed
Available for Editorial Use:
Yes
Available for Commercial Use:
No
Copyright Notice:
© 2009 Dave Kennard

Camera Data

Date Digital Resource was created:
Shutter speed:
1100 s
Aperture:
f/2.2
Camera Model:
Nikon D200
ISO:
100
Exposure Compensation:
+1
Focal Length:
50mm
Focal Length (35mm equiv.):
75mm
Metering Mode:
Multi-segment
Flash:
No Flash
Exposure Mode:
Auto
White Balance:
Manual
Light Source:
Cloudy
Exposure Program:
Aperture-priority AE

Additional shooting metadata

Lens:
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm F1.4D
Filters used:
Additional Optics used:
Setup:
Handheld

Post Processing

Image Modified:
Software used:
  • Nikon Capture NX 2
Post Processing:

-0.5 exposure compensation in CNX2
LCE applied in CNX2