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| Motoki no Ishi Torii (left) in Yamagata City |
Everyone is familiar with the traditional Japanese gate or
torii (鳥居） most commonly found at the entrance to a shrine (or sometimes temple). In a previous
post, I talked about the boundary between the profane (impure) and the sacred (pure) which the gate typically marks. The oldest
torii in Japan is a stone one in
Yamagata that dates back to the 12th century (pictured right). One of the most well-known is the famous"floating" vermilion
torii at
Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, Hiroshima, historically listed as one of the three most scenic views in Japan (
nihon sankei =日本三景). Thus, the
torii is usually seen as something at least large enough to walk through, though one is apparently not supposed to walk dead centre (
seichū =正中） through the gate as this is the path of the Gods. The images below show: from left to right, a gate leading up to a small neighbourhood shrine, three gates in the centre of a large shrine in a park (note the
shide purifying paper), and a solitary gate in the middle of a field in front of a tiny shrine.
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| L to R, (1) torri in a small neighbourhood shrine, (2) three torii in a park shrine and (3) a solitary torii in a barren field |
However, less well known are the tiny
torii dotted around the neighbourhood in difficult to see places: by the side of a road, in the undergrowth next to a fence, or hidden away on a small path (pictured below - look carefully!). Why are they there? Believe it or not, the reason is apparently to deter passers-by (and/or their dogs) from urinating (
shōben =小便) and dumping rubbish (
fuhōtōki =不法投棄)! Because the
torii signifies sacred ground (even though there is no actual shrine present), doing either of these actions would presumably consecrate the site, thereby angering the gods. I wonder how effective they are at subconsciously deterring these kind of actions?
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| Two tiny torii on the road leading to the station, as a deterrent to passers-by not to urinate or throw rubbish! |
