Torii Gate 鳥居

Official explanation

This 7-meter-tall torii gate was built in 1928 to celebrate the enthronement of Emperor Shōwa two years earlier. The plaque that hangs from the gate bears the name of Futsu no Mitama no Ōkami, one of the shrine’s three principal deities.

Torii gates mark the borders between the sacred realm of Shinto kami deities and the profane, everyday world. Passing through a torii is much like passing through the doors of a temple, church, mosque, or synagogue.

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There are several theories about the origin of torii gates. According to legend, the first torii was a perch where a multitude of deities gathered roosters and made them crow, hoping to restore light to the world by enticing the sun goddess Amaterasu to leave the cave she was hiding in. In support of this origin, the characters used to write the word “torii” literally mean “a place for birds.”

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.