Japanese lion statue returns to NMI shrine

A lion statue that has been long removed from its natural setting has been returned to the hills of Saipan.

The lion, one of two stone statues that were once part of a Japanese Shinto shrine in the rural area of Kagman, Saipan, was returned to the shrine on July 18, 2005, by the state Historic Preservation Office.

The statue was relocated from a downtown government building where it abruptly appeared during construction several years ago.

Francisco Deleon Guerrero, landowner of the historic Hachiman Jinja Shinto Shrine site were the lion is believed to have originated, attested that the statue is one of two lion statues that were taken from the site in the 1950s during the Naval Technical Training Unit period of Northern Mariana Islands history.

“Mr. Deleon Guerrero recalls the description of the statue quite clearly because the lions were a part of the shrine that he has looked after on his property for many years,” said Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Historic Preservation director Epiphanio Cabrera, Jr.

“According to him, the two statues were moved to the NTTU staff mess in the 1950s and later placed at the old Marianas Public Land Corp. building on Capitol Hill. The lions then went missing for years until one came up abruptly at the downtown Multi-Purpose Center.”

The statue is further believed to belong to the shrine because its figure complements the base structures of where the lions should be placed at the jinja. The color and material structure of the lion and the pedestal are also similar. According to HPO, only proper concrete analyses can determine the true origin of the structure, but Deleon Guerrero has attested in writing that it belongs to the Japanese shrine.

“Reportedly, many Japanese and Okinawan nationals visitors to the island have been inquiring about the location of the lion that used to be on the pedestal at the shrine. They remember it from when they first visited the area,” said Cabrera. “We have relocated the statue to the Hachiman Jinja primarily because it is the site of origin. The jinja area is a safer location to house it since Mr. Deleon Guerrero constantly maintains it. It should also make visiting tourists and religious groups quite happy to see the lion back.”

HPO contacted construction companies to inquire how the statue got to the Multi-Purpose Center during the building and renovation phases, but they have no recollection of how the statue got there. The location of the lion’s whereabouts and the identity of its caretaker prior to its appearance at the Multi-Purpose Center remains a mystery.