noun
Refers to the animal lion. In modern Japanese, ライオン is more common in everyday speech, but 獅子 is used in traditional contexts, idioms, and set phrases.
See also: ライオン
獅子は百獣の王と呼ばれる。
The lion is called the king of beasts.
獅子舞はお正月の伝統的な踊りだ。
The lion dance is a traditional New Year's performance.
noun
left-hand guardian lion-dog at a Shinto shrine
Specifically the left-hand stone guardian (often with open mouth) of a pair at Shinto shrines. The right-hand one is called 狛犬. Also related to 唐獅子 imagery.
神社の入り口で、獅子と狛犬が参拝者を守っている。
At the shrine entrance, the lion-dog and the komainu guard the worshippers.
Rarely used kanji form.
The common modern word for the animal lion. 獅子 is more traditional and appears in set phrases and cultural contexts.
The right-hand guardian lion-dog at a Shinto shrine, often paired with 獅子 on the left.
A mythical lion-like creature from Chinese art, often depicted in Japanese traditional designs. Related to the guardian lion-dog sense.
From Chinese 獅子 (shīzi), meaning lion. The character 獅 specifically denotes a lion, and 子 is a nominal suffix. The shrine guardian sense derives from the lion-like statues introduced via Korea and China.