fabulous dolphin-like fish, killer whale, (kokuji)
鯱 centers on a mythical sea creature that resembles a dolphin or killer whale, often depicted as a fierce, tiger-like fish. It is a Japanese kokuji, so its meaning is culturally specific to this fabulous beast.
鯱 is a Japanese kokuji created by combining 魚 (fish) and 虎 (tiger) to represent a mythical tiger-like fish. The character was likely coined to describe the shachihoko, a creature with a fish body and tiger head.
The left side is 魚 (fish) and the right side is 虎 (tiger). Imagine a fierce fish with the head and ferocity of a tiger: that's the fabulous dolphin-like killer whale, 鯱.
For しゃちほこ, picture a shachihoko statue on a castle roof, with its tiger-fish body arching up: "sha-chi-ho-ko" sounds like the creature's name itself, so just remember the mythical beast and its name together.
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shachihoko; shachi; mythical animal with the head of a tiger and the body of a fish
orca (Orcinus orca); killer whale; grampus
Haviside's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii)
golden shachihoko (ornament)
golden shachihoko (ornament)
to stand on ceremony
ridge-end tile with the figure of a shachihoko (e.g. on a castle)
handstand; headstand