A in

Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...

is the road approaching either a

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

or a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

.Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version. Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto ''

torii A is a traditional culture of Japan, Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to ...

'', in the second by a Buddhist ''

sanmon A or is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen '' shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other denominations ...

'', gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. The word can refer both to a path or road, and to the path of one's life's efforts.See, Karatedo. c.f. Taoism 道 There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course. A ''sandō'' can be called a , if it is the main entrance, or a if it is a secondary point of entrance, especially to the rear; are also sometimes found. The famous

Omotesandō is a Zelkova serrata, zelkova tree-lined avenue located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya and Minato, Tokyo, Minato, Tokyo, stretching from the Meiji Shrine entrance to Aoyama-dōri (Aoyama Street), where Omotesandō Station can be found. History Omot ...

district in Tokyo, for example, takes its name from the nearby main access path to

Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-ku, Kyoto#Sights, Fushimi-momoyama, south ...

where an ''ura-sandō'' also used to exist.

Gallery

File:Ebaraji sanmon.jpg, A Buddhist ''sandō'' File:Miyazaki-jingu, second torii gate 01.jpg, The ''sandō'' at Miyazaki Jingū File:Taroubougu 3.JPG, A ''sandō'' with stairs File:Kozanji Kyoto Kyoto07s5s4592.jpg, The ''sandō'' at

Kōzan-ji , officially , is a Buddhist temple of the Omuro sect of Shingon Buddhism in Umegahata Toganōchō, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. Kōzan-ji is also known as Kōsan-ji and Toganō-dera. The temple was founded by the Shingon scholar ...

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

File:Tsurugaoka Hachimangu From Third Torii until First Torii.jpg, The sandō at

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū is the most important Shinto shrine in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is a cultural center of the city of Kamakura and serves as the venue of many of its most important festivals with two museum ...

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

References

Architecture in Japan Shinto Footpaths Buddhist temples in Japan Roads in Japan Shinto architecture {{Japan-art-stub

Gallery

See also

References