These two ancient animals meant to ward off evil spirits. Usually are almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed.
The two forms are called a-gyō and un-gyō or referred to collectively as a-un.The pattern is Buddhist in origin.
The open mouth is pronouncing the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, which is pronounced "a",
while the closed one is uttering the last letter, which is pronounced "un", to represent the beginning and the end of all things.
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