Nitenmon, Gate of the Heavenly Kings 二天門

Official explanation

This second gate protecting the approach to Iemitsu’s tomb is the largest at the Nikkosan temple complex. The gate houses two of the Four Heavenly Kings, each of which guards one of the four cardinal directions. The green-skinned Jikokuten on the left is the guardian of the East and protector of the realm. On the right is the red-skinned Komokuten, guardian of the West whose wide vision sees through all evil. To the rear of the gate are statues of Raijin and Fujin, the deities of thunder and wind. These were originally located elsewhere but were moved here in the late nineteenth century. The inscription above the gate reads “Taiyuin.” It was written personally by the 108th emperor of Japan, Gomizunoo (1596–1680).

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.