出典:Wiktionary
出典:Wikipedia
出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/06/03 00:56 UTC 版)
A torii (鳥居・鳥栖・鶏栖 , lit. bird perch, English: /ˈtɔəri.iː/) is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred (see Sacred-profane dichotomy). The presence of a torii at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small torii icon represents them on Japanese road maps. They are however a common sight at Japanese Buddhist temples too, where they stand at the entrance of the temple's own shrine, called chinjusha (鎮守社 , tutelary god shrine) and usually very small.