The majestic Japanese red gate towering above the water at Itsukushima Shrine. Thousands of torii in Kyoto's most famous Fushimi Inari. This world-famous gate has become a symbol of Japan. What do they mean? Why are they considered both a symbol of great luck and a passage to the other world?
Simple design - sacred meaning
Torii are the famous Japanese gates, usually installed in the territories of temple complexes. They are a simple construction of two pillars connected by two crossbars, the top of which resembles the roof of Japanese temples.
Initially, the gate was made without an upper roof at all - two pillars with a crossbar of a certain proportion. An unpainted, simple design that symbolizes the essence of Japanese culture and wisdom. Later, an upper crossbar was added to the gate, then they began to make it in an intricate shape. Last but not least, the torii were red.
Legend of the Sun
Whydo Japanese torii gates carry such a contradictory meaning - both good luck and a symbol of transition to the other world?
Legend says that the sun goddess Amaterasu, angry at her brother who ruined her rice fields, hid in a dark cave. She blocked the entrance with a huge stone and did not want to leave her shelter anymore. The whole world plunged into darkness.
People realized that without the sun they would die, and decided to lure the beautiful goddess out of the cave by all means. Then they built a huge bird roost at the entrance - the future Japanese gate, on which they planted all the roosters they could find. The birds made an unimaginable noise, and a curious Amaterasu peeped out to see what was happening.
Then the sun returned to the sky, and the Japanese gate became a symbol of great luck.
Entering the Spirit World
Torii symbolize not only luck. They are also a passage to the other world. Japanese gates are scattered throughout the Land of the Rising Sun, and you can meet them not only in large temple complexes.
If, while walking through the forest, somewhere in a completely inappropriate place, a deaf path leads you to torii, it means that it was the spirits that led you here to think about yourself, life, your place in it and your affairs.
Japanese Gate is a favorite resting place for birds - no wonder, because according to legend, they were built as a bird perch. The Japanese firmly believe that, flying away, the birds take the souls of the dead with them.
Passing through the torii, you need to be prepared to meet the spirits and the dead, because the gate symbolizes notonly an entrance, but also a transformation of consciousness.
Step by step closer to the shrine
The torii gate is an integral part of Shinto shrines. They mean a kind of border beyond which the sacred space begins, and therefore, when entering the torii, you need to bow your head or make a small bow.
Their size and number are directly related to the size of the shrine. The first, largest torii signify the entrance to a sacred place, each subsequent, as a rule, lower and smaller than the previous ones and mean a gradual approach to the shrine.
You can often see red Japanese gates in the photo. Many people think that all torii look like this. But this is not a completely correct representation. Only the torii of Inari and Usa shrines are painted red, the rest are neutral or white.
Most often, gates are made of wood, but torii are often made of marble, stone, and even reinforced concrete structures.
Gate running on waves
Itsukushima Shrine is one of the most popular and recognizable places in Japan. It was originally erected in honor of the three daughters of the god Susanoo no Mikoto, but has since been repeatedly destroyed and remade.
It is believed that people were never born or died on the island, since for a long time the entrance there for mere mortals was closed. The island is famous for its five-tiered pagoda, wooden buildings connected by galleries and a house built on stilts on the water.
The entrance to the sanctuary is symbolized by 16-meterjapanese torii gate. Their photo is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Land of the Rising Sun. These gates are built on the territory of the bay, some distance from the temple complex, and every time at high tide they are immersed in water. The low tide gives the impression that this majestic structure itself glides on the surface of the water.
Kyoto Torii Arcade
The second most popular and recognizable monument in Japan with a gate in the Japanese style is the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, located in Kyoto. Here, thousands of torii, placed one after the other, form a kind of gallery, an arcade, mysterious and mysterious.
An almost five-kilometer long corridor leads up the mountain to the five main chapels of the temple. It is also noteworthy that all the torii located here are donations from individuals or large corporations.
The torii are placed in such a way that the sun's rays pass through the beams, creating an indescribable mysterious atmosphere. But the best time to visit this place is late at night, when the lights inside the labyrinth create an unknown mystical atmosphere.
The biggest torii
One of the largest Japanese gates is located at the entrance to the Shinto shrine of Heian Jingu. The building itself depicts the Imperial Palace in Kyoto.
This shrine was built in 1895 to celebrate the 1100th anniversary of Kyoto. The red gate is called Oten-mon, stands 1.5 kilometers from the temple and is considered the highest inJapan.
The temple itself is surrounded by four gardens, where sakura, irises and wisteria grow. Everything here is organized strictly according to the principles of Feng Shui.
Thorii in Russia
However, to see the famous Japanese gate, it is not necessary to go to the Land of the Rising Sun. One of the gates is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, on Sakhalin Island.
The Japanese Shinto shrine Tomarioru Jinja was located there in 1922. The entrance to it was through the white marble Torii Gate, which is still preserved. This place is located near the village of Vzmorye.
The gate that survived a nuclear explosion
The one-pillar torii gate in Nagasaki is a symbol of rebirth and the continuation of life. The Sanno-jinja temple complex was located 900 meters from the epicenter of the explosion of a nuclear bomb dropped during World War II.
The torii in the grounds of the Shinto shrine were built of white stone. During the bombing, one of the columns was shot down, but the second miraculously survived, turning 30 degrees.
These torii still silently recall the horror that happened at that time.
Real symbol of Japan
It is impossible to calculate at least the approximate number of gates in Japan. According to scientists, there are about 85 thousand Shinto temples and shrines in the Land of the Rising Sun. Each of them can contain an infinite number of torii.
The fact is that the number of gates depends only on the generosity of the donors, since the gates of temples are traditionallygiven by corporations and individuals in honor of some significant event for themselves.
Often, gates can be found in lost forests, on the outskirts of cities or on the coast. What they are doing there and the entrance to which of the sanctuaries they symbolize - only the spirits know.
The size of the gate varies from several tens of meters in height to one meter high, where only a child or a crouching adult can pass.
At different times, torii decorated the coats of arms of various noble families, and over time became the unspoken symbol of Japan.
Little Japan: torii in your garden
With some skills in carpentry and construction, it is not difficult to build a Japanese gate with your own hands. Of course, it will not be a global structure like the one that decorates the entrance to Itsukushima Shrine, but they will give a special charm to the Japanese-style garden.
For the poles you will have to get wooden trunks with a diameter of about 150 mm and a length of 3 meters.
In the picture below you will find the exact measurements and proportions for future Japanese style gates.
The structure should be securely concreted into the ground and painted with red paint. Your personal entrance to the spirit world is ready!
