LEGO Shiisa Figure in BrickHeadz™ Style
This was once again a collaboration with Kukuru, who was my Japan expert, providing feedback during the design process.
Shiisa from all angles.
There is an existing Shiisa set made by Nanoblock, which was my initial inspiration. However, I did not want to just copy it, I wanted to give it a LEGO flavor, so I decided to go with the popular BrickHeadz style.
Shiisa (シーサ, shīsā) is a traditional Ryukyuan cultural artifact and decoration derived from Chinese guardian lions, often seen in similar pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology. Shiisa are wards, believed to protect from some evils. People place pairs of shiisa on their rooftops or flanking the gates to their houses, with the left shiisa traditionally having a closed mouth, the right one an open mouth. The open mouth shiisa traditionally wards off evil spirits, and the closed mouth shiisa keeps good spirits in. (Wikipedia [1])