torii

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Torii (gateway) to the Futarasan Shrine in Nikkō, Japan.

Read Next

What Is the Most Widely Practiced Religion in the World?

Night view of the Opera House and new business quarter, Oslo, Norway.

These 8 Buildings Will Make You See Norway in a New Light

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's House, Weimar,Germany; photocrom print published between 1890-1900.

5 Historically Significant Houses in Germany

The New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, designed by the Japanese architecture firm SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates) and opened in 2007. Attached to the facade is Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone's sculpture installation Hell, Yes! (2001)

Woman-Made: 13 Architects You Might Not Know

Florence Baptistery of Saint John, Italy

9 Historic Buildings in Florence

Discover

Indian hijras participate in a religious procession in Gandhinagar, India, some 30 kilometers from Ahmedabad, on March 22, 2017. Hijra is a term used in South Asia which refers to transgender individuals who are born male. (gender identity, gender expression)

6 Cultures That Recognize More than Two Genders

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket

Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?

The Prado Museum facade at the Diego Velaszquez memorial. Established in 1819, the museum is considered the best collection of Spanish art and one of the world's finest collections of European art. Madrid, Spain

20 Paintings You Have to Visit at the Museo del Prado in Madrid

The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. (Civil War, Pennsylvania)

9 Worst Generals in History

Timeline and Map of the Panama Canal

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

torii

Japanese architecture

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Related Topics:: jinja

See all related content

torii, symbolic gateway marking the entrance to the sacred precincts of a Shintō shrine in Japan. The torii, which has many variations, characteristically consists of two cylindrical vertical posts topped by a crosswise rectangular beam extending beyond the posts on either side and a second crosswise beam a short distance below the first. Some authorities relate the torii to the Indian gateway arch, the torana, which reached Japan with the spread of Buddhism. Others connect the torii with traditional gates in Manchuria and elsewhere in China. The torii, often painted bright red, demarcates the boundary between the sacred space of the shrine and ordinary space. Torii also identify other sacred spots, such as a mountain or rock.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Zeidan.