Torii takes on a role of a gate and show the border of the world between gods and human. Most of the shrines only have single torii, but a large one has two or three.

Generally the strucure is formed from two vertical(a little leaning inside) pole, and two horizontal, Kasagi(upper) and Nuki(lower).

But it has the several types including Shinmei, Kashima, Hachiman, Kasuga, Myojin, and Inari. Especially the Torii of Fushimi Inari Shrine(伏見稲荷) in Kyoto and Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社) at Miyajima Island, Hiroshima deeply impress the visitors.

A pair of Komainu mostly sit on the both side of an aproach of a shrine, nearby Torii. The name and the appearance seems to dog. But actually, komainu belongs to the divine beasts and keep evil from invading into the sacred area.

When you look at them carefully and notice the difference of the mouths. One of  komainu open the mouth widely and another close tightly. In Japanese proverb, the breath of “A-Un” which means that the harmonizing、mentally and physically、of two parties engaged in an activity. They guard the prencint with the breath of A-Un and also sit in a Buddhism temple.

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The Buddhism temple architectures in Japan

Japanese Buddhism temples  The introduction of Buddhism with Buddha statue as present, via the country of Kudara, on the Korean Peninsula, to Japan was at the end of the 6th century(learn more about Buddha statue in Japan).   Yakushiji Temple And Hokoji Temple (法興寺）, Asuka-dera（飛鳥寺）, was built as the first regular Buddhism Temple in Japan. But the oldest wooden structure in the world is the Saiin Garan（西院伽藍）, the Western Precinct,  of Horyuji Temple（法隆寺...

You can see shimenawa here and there. Torii shows the borders of the sacred area but Shimenawa lots especially holy space including a worship hall or a main hall.

At an event of Shinto and a household Shinto altar, people use it with the simplified style.

The visitors should purify the mouth and hands at the chozuya before praying in front of a warship hall. You can see it also in the temples. In Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, the water have the power of making sin or impurity into purity.

An ascetic practice of Takigyo(滝行), standing or sitting under a waterfall, and Mizugori(水垢離), performing cold-water ablutions, aim at the same purpose of chozuya.

Of course the light of the tourou would shine the visitors foot, but the foremost to offer it for the gods.

The visitors can’t find the bell at the hall of the temple because the instrument in the shrine has the unique purpose. When they ring the bell, the sound sooth  the gods and themselves, addition to that tell the hosts their visiting.