The Yonekoyaki Craft Center offers Japanese and Okinawan arts and crafts and is the place to hit if you’re after a shisa, the Okinawa guardian dog/lion sort of thing. Usually found in pairs—mouth closed on the right shisa, open on the left—shisa are meant to keep evil spirits out and good spirits in. At Yonekoyaki, representations go way beyond the traditional, with designs and colors you won’t see anywhere else.
Naha (Japan): shisa statuettes, sold as souvenirs in a shop along Kokusai-dori. Shisa is a traditional Ryukyuan decoration, often in pairs, resembling a cross between a lion and a dog, from Okinawan mythology
Pietro Scozzari/© Pietro Scozzari
