Oni
Bell
Id #283 designed 2005 The rear side
has a ShiShi dog guarding its “tama”. The Oni
Bell depicts two characters of Japanese folklore, the Oni,
a demon and the ShiShi, a guardian dog.
Oni are supernatural beings which were once living people. They
are often mischievous and can make life difficult. Oni are
described as having bushy eyebrows, two
horns and a large mouth with fangs. This also represents the face of a jealous
woman, who if she dies of jealousy becomes an Oni.
Not all Oni are bad. Sometimes a dying priest can come back as an Oni to
protect his temple.
The presence of Oni can be detected by the sounds they make. They whistle
and sing like the sound of the Oni bell. On the opposite side of the bell
is a
ShiShi dog. They originate from China as the Foo dog. They are Lion like
dogs who serve as guardians. They hold a round Buddhist
jewel in their paws called a tama. When their mouth is open, they scare off
demons like the Oni.
|
|
|
