Japan · Architectural Sculpture / Lime Plaster Modeling
漆喰シーサー (Shikkui Shīsā); 屋根獅子 (Yane-jishi)
The roof shisa (屋根獅子) is the guardian lion modeled in lime plaster directly on the red-tile roofs of Okinawan houses by the tile roofers who laid them. Before 1889 commoners were not permitted tiled roofs. Once tiling became allowed that year, roofers began shaping a shisa from leftover tiles and plaster as a thank-you to the household that had hired them, and the lion on the ridge became one of Okinawa's defining sights. The material is muchi (ムチ, 'rice cake'), Ryukyu lime plaster. It was traditionally made by slaking lime from burned coral with rice straw and pounding it in a stone mortar like mochi. Since coral collection was banned it has been made from limestone, mixed with steamed straw and rested for two or three days before kneading. It is yellowish when made and whitens with age. The same plaster binds the red tiles. Shisa in general have deeper roots: the oldest surviving village lion, the Tomori stone lion, was set up in 1689 against fires on feng-shui advice, and lion sculpture appears on 13th–15th-century royal tombs. The roofers' plaster shisa, though, is a Meiji-and-later vernacular craft tied to the red-tile trade. Red-tile works fell from about 100 around 1950 to eight by 1993.
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not inscribed. The Tomori stone lion (1689) is an Okinawa Prefecture designated tangible cultural property; the plaster roof-shisa craft itself is not designated
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