Kyoto : Demon roof tile
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Hi @shigeo ,
It’s amazing, thanks for sharing.
How people could create these decorations in the past? I’m impressed, when I see something with important meaning like this.
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Thanks for sharing.
I do not know the creator of the old Onika tile, but if a contemporary producer, he’s here.
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Hello @shigeo ,
Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful roof tiles. I always found them really enthralling and I used to take a lot of pictures of them when I lived in Korea. It is so interesting that Japan, Korea and China each have a different style of roofs.
Below you can see the traditional Korean style roof from a picture I took in the Gyeongbokgung Palace:
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Thank you for sharing.
It is said that roof tiles of Japan an historical arrived from Current Korea (Kudara) in 588 AD.
Then, Japan’s unique tile was made in the long history.
There are lots of interesting things when looking at tiles. From now on let me introduce Japanese tiles to everyone.
Thank you for the additional information @shigeo , looking forward to more great posts from you! 
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These so called demons reminds me a bit of the gargoyles, which can be found on churches throughout Europe. I don’t know about Japan, but in France they are engineered to preserve stone walls by convey the flow of rainwater outward from rooftops and this is why they are all with open mouths. Are the ones in Kyoto having the same purpose, @shigeo ?
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There is a “gutter” that gathers the flow of rainwater in the building that guided.
However, there is no “gutter” in the structure of a traditional old house.
Therefore, the eaves are made very large.
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This is fascinating! I wasn’t aware of this. Thank you so much @shigeo for sharing this interesting information with the community. It’s always nice to learn something new.
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Was good（●＾o＾●）
Hey @TsekoV ,
Are there any similar roof tops in China that you would like to share in this thread?
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Thank you for tagging me @KlaudiyaG . I somehow missed this post.
This is a very interesting topic that you started. I have seen many of these demon creatures even in China. From what I have noticed, many regions have their own specifics. For instance, the temples on the north part of China have those kind of demons, while temples in cities like Nanjing look quite different.
The temples that I have seen in Beijing have something in common. It is those creatures that they have on the rooftops. The so called demons.
You can see such demons figures, including many dragons and lions and other figures on the top of those traditional buildings. You can see them in each and every building of the Forbidden city, for example.
Many Asian countries should have these ornaments on their rooftops. Are they considered to be protective and scare away the evil @shigeo ?
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Oh yes, I’ve heard about this. That some of these statuettes are actually considered as some kind of a guardian spirits, which I find pretty cool. I’m sure that in real life they are pretty impressive.
Thank you for stepping into the conversation @TsekoV . and for sharing these wonderful photos.
((+_+))