Japan History and Culture

Golden Dolphins ( shachihoko,鯱)

The shachihoko is a symbol of Nagoya. “shachihoko”, it refers to the mystical animal, it is a kind of tiger fish, an animal with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp or dolphins. In Japanese mythology, it was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often shibi adorned with in this shape, in order to protect them from fire. You can see a pair of shachihoko on the top of the roof of Nagoya castle.They was put there mainly for the purpose to show the power of the lord of the
castle.