Komainu

History
Komainu, also called Chinese guardian lions, called Fu (Foo) Lions, lions of Buddha, or sometimes stone lions (石獅, Pinyin: Shíshī) in Chinese art[1], are a common representation of the lion in pre-modern China, which is believed to have powerful mythic protective powers that has traditionally stood in front of Chinese Imperial palaces, temples, emperors' tombs, government offices, and the homes of government officials and the wealthy from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), until the end of the empire in 1911.

The lions are always created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub. They occur in many types of Chinese pottery and in Western imitations.

Pairs of Chinese guardian lions, also called Chinese stone lions are still common decorative and symbolic elements at the entrances to restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and other structures, with one sitting on each side of the entrance, in China and in other places around the world where the Chinese people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns.

In Tibet, the guardian lion is known as a Snow Lion and similar to Japanese shishi. In Myanmar they are called Chinthe and gave their name to the World War II Chindit soldiers.