A shishi, or foo dog as a lot of Westerners call them, is a mythological lion. They’re guardians. Protection.

In Japan they guard temple entrances. You’ll see them holding an orb under a paw, which symbolizes wisdom. If there’s two of them, one’s male and one’s female, one mouth open and one closed. The open and closed mouths symbolize all the sound in the universe.

They’re often shown with cubs. The legend goes that they guard a holy temple, and when they have cubs, they cast them out. Only the strongest cubs make it back.

You can go fierce or stoic depending on what you want to project. They pair almost always with peonies. The lion is king of beasts, the peony is king of flowers.