Nanmon South Gate 南門

Official explanation

The two-storied south gate, which is 12 m high, is the primary entrance to the main compound of Kasuga Taisha Shrine.

Prior to the construction of the Nanmon, the main entrance to the shrine was the Keigamon gate, which stands to the west facing sacred Mt. Mikasa. It is believed that the Nanmon was built specially for the exclusive use of the nobility. Both the Nanmon and the Keigamon gates are now open to the public.

Read the full explanation

At the annual Kasuga Festival, the imperial envoy enters through the Keigamon if he is a member of the Fujiwara family. Imperial envoys not belonging to the Fujiwara family use the Nanmon gate.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.