Torii
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.
[1] The oldest existing stone torii was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture.
[4] 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.
Benzaiten is a syncretic goddess derived from the Indian divinity Sarasvati, who unites elements of both Shinto and Buddhism.
[5] Finally, until the Meiji period (1868–1912) torii were routinely adorned with plaques carrying Buddhist sutras.
[6] Yamabushi, Japanese mountain ascetic hermits with a long tradition as mighty warriors endowed with supernatural powers, sometimes use as their symbol a torii.
[citation needed] It is also used as a fixture at the entrance of some Japantown communities, such as Liberdade in São Paulo.
[4] Because the use of symbolic gates is widespread in Asia—such structures can be found for example in India, China, Thailand, Korea, and within Nicobarese and Shompen villages—many historians believe they may be an imported tradition.
[1] According to this theory, the torana was adopted by Shingon Buddhism founder Kūkai, who used it to demarcate the sacred space used for the homa ceremony.
[5] In Bangkok, Thailand, a Brahmin structure called Sao Ching Cha strongly resembles a torii.
[8][9] Unlike its Chinese counterpart, the hongsal-mun does not vary greatly in design and is always painted red, with "arrowsticks" located on the top of the structure (hence the name).
"Bird perches" similar in form and function to the sotdae exist also in other shamanistic cultures in China, Mongolia and Siberia.
Ancient Japanese texts like the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki for example mention how Yamato Takeru after his death became a white bird and in that form chose a place for his own burial.
[5] For this reason, his mausoleum was then called shiratori misasagi (白鳥陵, white bird grave).
Many later texts also show some relationship between dead souls and white birds, a link common also in other cultures, shamanic like the Japanese.
The first torii could have evolved already with their present function through the following sequence of events: The shinmei torii, whose structure agrees with the historians' reconstruction, consists of just four unbarked and unpainted logs: two vertical pillars (hashira (柱)) topped by a horizontal lintel (kasagi (笠木)) and kept together by a tie-beam (nuki (貫)).
[note 2] Probably one of the oldest types of torii, it consists of two posts with a sacred rope called shimenawa tied between them.
The shinmei torii (神明鳥居), which gives the name to the family, is constituted solely by a lintel (kasagi) and two pillars (hashira) united by a tie beam (nuki).
The most common is extremely similar to a shinmei torii, its pillars however have a slight inward inclination and its nuki is kept in place by wedges (kusabi).
[17] This and the shinmei torii style started becoming more popular during the early 20th century at the time of State Shinto because they were considered the oldest and most prestigious.
[18] This torii was the first to be painted vermilion and to adopt a shimaki at Kasuga Taisha, the shrine from which it takes its name.
A myōjin torii can be made of wood, stone, concrete or other materials and be vermilion or unpainted.
[20] The name derives from its long association with Ryōbu Shintō, a current of thought within Shingon Buddhism.
