白虎 byakko White Tiger

白虎 is the tiger that keeps the west. Beside it stand the Azure Dragon of the east, the Red Bird of the south and the Dark Warrior of the north. The same name belongs to the White Tiger band of Aizu. It was the youngest of the domain's four units, each named for one of these guardians.

It is a guardian's name in two strong characters.

The word joins 白, white, and 虎, tiger, and names the White Tiger that the cosmology of Han China set in the west as one of four guardian beasts of the quarters, a banner in the 禮記 and the west's beast in the 淮南子; it is recorded in Japan on the court's New Year banners of 701 and painted on the west walls of two tombs of about 700.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 白虎.

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