Countries and cultures - Cultures and customs - Torii - Shinto shrines - Religious traditions - Japan
What does a torii gate before a Japanese Shinto shrine symbolize?
Correct!
A torii is one of Japan’s best-known symbols and is typically placed at the entrance to a Shinto shrine. Symbolically, it marks the boundary between the ordinary, secular area and the sacred area of the shrine. Torii can be made of wood, stone or other materials and do not always have to be red. The bright vermilion torii of many Japanese shrines, however, are especially famous. One famous example is Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, whose paths are lined with thousands of torii.
A torii symbolically marks the transition from the secular area to the sacred area of a Shinto shrine.
