![]() ![]() It is also used as a fixture at the entrance of some Japantown communities, such as Liberdade in São Paulo. For example, it is the symbol of the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment and the 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division and of other US forces in Japan. The torii is also sometimes used as a symbol of Japan in non-religious contexts. Yamabushi, Japanese mountain ascetic hermits with a long tradition as mighty warriors endowed with supernatural powers, sometimes use as their symbol a torii. įinally, until the Meiji period (1868–1912) torii were routinely adorned with plaques carrying Buddhist sutras. The goddess herself is sometimes portrayed with a torii on her head. ![]() For this reason halls dedicated to her can be found at both temples and shrines, and in either case in front of the hall stands a torii. Benzaiten is a syncretic goddess derived from the Indian divinity Sarasvati, who unites elements of both Shinto and Buddhism. (The original wooden torii burned in 1294 and was then replaced by one in stone.) Many Buddhist temples include one or more Shinto shrines dedicated to their tutelary kami(" Chinjusha"), and in that case a torii marks the shrine's entrance. Even today, as prominent a temple as Osaka's Shitennō-ji, founded in 593 by Shōtoku Taishi and the oldest state-built Buddhist temple in the country (and world), has a torii straddling one of its entrances. In the past torii must have been used also at the entrance of Buddhist temples. Also, because of the strong relationship between Shinto shrines and the Japanese Imperial family, a torii stands also in front of the tomb of each Emperor.īuddhist goddess Benzaiten, a torii visible on her head Other torii can be found farther into the shrine to represent increasing levels of holiness as one nears the inner sanctuary ( honden), core of the shrine. The following ones, closer to the shrine, are usually called, in order, ni no torii ( 二の鳥居, second torii) and san no torii ( 三の鳥居, third torii). If the sandō passes under multiple torii, the outer of them is called ichi no torii ( 一の鳥居, first torii). For this reason, the road leading to a Shinto shrine ( sandō) is almost always straddled by one or more torii, which are therefore the easiest way to distinguish a shrine from a Buddhist temple. ![]() The function of a torii is to mark the entrance to a sacred space. Uses The famous torii at Itsukushima Shrine Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto has thousands of such torii, each bearing the donor's name. Shrines of Inari, the kami of fertility and industry, typically have many torii because those who have been successful in business often donate torii in gratitude. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a black upper lintel. Torii gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, copper, stainless steel or other materials. The oldest existing wooden torii is a ryōbu torii (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi Prefecture built in 1535. The oldest existing stone torii was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. The first appearance of torii gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid- Heian period they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The presence of a torii at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small torii icon represents them on Japanese road maps. For other uses, see Torii (disambiguation).Ī torii at the entrance of Tatsuta Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Sangō, NaraĪ torii ( Japanese: 鳥居, ) is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to travel through.
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