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Tori-i

Karate and Culture



I Ponti dei Kami – I Tori-i鳥居
Pubblicato da Kojin Sensei



I Tori-i鳥居 sono porte che simbolicamente separano la zona profana dalla zona sacra del tempio, segnando l’ingresso nell’area del santuario che porta ad un Jinja (tempio Shintoista). É formato da due colonne di supporto verticali, 柱 hashira e due traversi orizzontali in cui 笠木 kasagi è la traverso superiore mentre貫 nuki è  l’inferiore, il gesto di passarci sotto è un modo per purificare l’anima, atto necessario per poter pregare i kami (gli spiriti) ospitati nel tempio.


La loro apparizione in Giappone risale al 922, anno a cui risale il primo testo antico in cui sono menzionati, ma le loro origini sono ancora misteriose e incerte. Nonostante vi siano strutture simili in molte altre zone dell’Asia, come, per esempio, in India (Torana dell’architettura Buddista e Induista), in Cina (p’ai-lou), in Corea (hong-sal mun), in Thailandia, in Nepal e altrove. La ragione e le circostanze per cui questi portali siano stati importati anche in Giappone non sono conosciute.
La mitologia giapponese collega i Tori-i al mito di Amaterasu, ma questa associazione, che intenderebbe dare un’origine indigena dei Tori-i, è ritenuta frutto di leggende.
Anche sull’origine del nome, non c’è chiarezza: molti collegano il nome Tori-i al vocabolo giapponese “Tori” (uccello) e quindi, in origine, il Tori-i sarebbe stato un enorme trespolo per gli uccelli che, secondo lo Shintoismo, sono messaggeri degli dei. Altra ipotesi lo fa derivare dal termine nipponico “tori-iru” (entrare).
Come abbiamo detto i Tori-i si trovano all’entrata dei luoghi sacri (templi, tombe) e non sempre da soli, ma in gruppi di tre o anche più. Nel grande tempio dedicato al dio della fertilità, o del riso, Inari, a Fushimi, ci sono, addirittura migliaia di Tori-i che, messi uno dietro l’altro, formano un tunnel che il pellegrino deve attraversare, purificandosi, per raggiungere la parte più sacra del tempio.
Fushimi Inari Tori-i
Altro Tori-i famoso, e usato spesso per attirare turisti in Giappone, è la porta che è posta davanti al tempio Shintoista di Itsukushima posto sull’isola di Miyajima.
La porta sacra, notevole anche dal punto di vista visivo, è posto in modo tale da essere circondato dal mare in occasione dell’alta marea facendolo sembrare sospeso sull’acqua.
Il torii del santuario di Itsukushima
Queste particolari strutture, non si trovano solo davanti a templi, ma indicano anche l’accesso alle tombe imperiali come quella davanti alla tomba dell’Imperatore Showa (Hirohito). Non possiamo poi non citare il grande Tori-i presente sulla strada che porta al santuario dedicato all’Imperatore Meiji a Tokyo.
Dal punto di vista architettonico, i Tori-i, sono abbastanza semplici; due pali piantati per terra collegati, all’estremità superiore da uno o due travi che possono essere di sezione circolare o quadrata. Ce ne sono di vari stili ; di solito sono di colore rosso e il materiale usato è il legno. I Tori-i più moderni possono essere fatti anche d’acciaio o di cemento.
Comunque, indipendentemente dallo stile, dal colore e dal materiale, le porte sacre costituiscono, indubbiamente, uno degli elementi di maggior fascino della cultura del Giappone.
Esempi di Tori-i

Classificazione fondamentale dei Tori-i
—  Tori-i dritti
Shinmei tori-i  神明鳥居
Shimei tori-i (神明鳥居)
Ise tori-i (伊勢鳥居)
Kasuga tori-i (春日鳥居)
Hachiman tori-i (八幡鳥居)
Kashima tori-i (鹿島鳥居)
Kuroki tori-i (黒木鳥居)
—  Torii ricurvi
Myōjin Tori-i 明神鳥居
Inari tori-i (稲荷鳥居)
Sannō tori-i (山王鳥居)
Miwa tori-i (三輪鳥居)
Ryōbu tori-i (両部鳥居)
Mihashira tori-i
Mitsuhashira tori-i (三柱鳥居)






A torii (鳥居, literally bird abode, Japanese pronunciation: [to.ɾi.i])
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 mundane to the sacred.[1]
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.[note 1]
The first appearance of torii gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period; they are mentioned in a text written in 922.[1] The oldest existing stone torii was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman Shrine in Yamagata prefecture. The oldest existing wooden torii is a ryōbu torii (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi prefecture built in 1535.[1]
Torii gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, copper, stainless steel or other materials. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a black upper lintel. Inari shrines typically have many torii because those who have been successful in business often donate in gratitude a torii to Inari, kami of fertility and industry. Fushimi Inari-taisha in Kyoto has thousands of such torii, each bearing the donor's name.[2]



The torii, a gateway erected on the approach to every Shinto shrine, was derived from the Indian word torana. While the Indian term denotes a gateway, the Japanese characters can be translated as "bird perch". Words similar to torana can be found in several European languages for the door including the word "door" in English and "Tor" or "Tür" in German.[3]
Ancient Indian torana sacred gateway architecture has influenced gateway architecture across Asia, specially where Buddhism was transmitted from India; Chinese paifang gateways,[4][5] Japanese torii gateways,[4][6] Korean Hongsalmun gateway,[7] and Sao Ching Cha in Thailand[6] have been derived from the Indian torana. The functions of all are similar, but they generally differ based on their respective architectural styles.[8][9] According to several scholars, the vast evidence shows how the torii, both etymologically and architecturally, were originally derived from the torana, a free-standing sacred ceremonial gateway which marks the entrance of a sacred enclosure, such as Hindu-Buddhist temple or shrine, or city.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Bernhard Scheid wonders whether torii existed in Japan before Buddhism or arrived with it from India.[17]
Uses
The function of a torii is to mark the entrance to a sacred space. For this reason, the road leading to a Shinto shrine (sandō) is almost always straddled by one or more torii, which are therefore the easiest way to distinguish a shrine from a Buddhist temple. If the sandō passes under multiple torii, the outer of them is called ichi no torii (一の鳥居, first torii).[18] The following ones, closer to the shrine, are usually called, in order, ni no torii (二の鳥居, second torii) and san no torii (三の鳥居, third torii). Other torii can be found farther into the shrine to represent increasing levels of holiness as one nears the inner sanctuary (honden), core of the shrine.[18] Also, because of the strong relationship between Shinto shrines and the Japanese Imperial family, a torii stands also in front of the tomb of each Emperor.

In the past torii must have been used also at the entrance of Buddhist temples.[17] Even today, as prominent a temple as Osaka's Shitennō-ji, founded in 593 by Shōtoku Taishi and the oldest state-built Buddhist temple in the world (and country), has a torii straddling one of its entrances.[6] (The original wooden torii burned in 1294 and was then replaced by one in stone.) Many Buddhist temples include one or more Shinto shrines dedicated to their tutelary kami ("Chinjusha"), and in that case a torii marks the shrine's entrance. Benzaiten is a syncretic goddess derived from the Indian divinity Sarasvati, who unites elements of both Shinto and Buddhism. For this reason halls dedicated to her can be found at both temples and shrines, and in either case in front of the hall stands a torii. The goddess herself is sometimes portrayed with a torii on her head.[6] Finally, until the Meiji period (1868–1912) torii were routinely adorned with plaques carrying Buddhist sutras.[19]
Yamabushi, Japanese mountain ascetic hermits with a long tradition as mighty warriors endowed with supernatural powers, sometimes use as their symbol a torii.[6]
The torii is also sometimes used as a symbol of Japan in non-religious contexts. For example, it is the symbol of the Marine Corps Security Force Regiment and the 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division and of other US forces in Japan.[20]
Origins
The origins of the torii are unknown and there are several different theories on the subject, none of which has gained universal acceptance.[18] Because the use of symbolic gates is widespread in Asia—such structures can be found for example in India, China, Thailand, Korea, and within Nicobarese and Shompen villages—historians believe they may be an imported tradition.
They may, for example, have originated in India from the torana gates in the monastery of Sanchi in central India.[1] According to this theory, the torana was adopted by Shingon Buddhism founder Kūkai, who used it to demarcate the sacred space used for the homa ceremony.[21] The hypothesis arose in the 19th and 20th centuries due to similarities in structure and name between the two gates. Linguistic and historical objections have now emerged, but no conclusion has yet been reached.[6]
In Bangkok, Thailand, a Brahmin structure called Sao Ching Cha strongly resembles a torii. Functionally, however, it is very different as it is used as a swing.[6] During ceremonies Brahmins swing, trying to grab a bag of coins placed on one of the pillars.
Other theories claim torii may be related to the pailou of China. These structures however can assume a great variety of forms, only some of which actually somewhat resemble a torii.[6] The same goes for Korea's "hongsal-mun".[22][23] Unlike its Chinese counterpart, the hongsal-mun does not vary greatly in design and is always painted red, with "arrowsticks" located on the top of the structure (hence the name).
Proposed relatives of the torii
An Indian torana

A Chinese pailou

A Korean Hongsalmun

Various tentative etymologies of the word torii exist. According to one of them, the name derives from the term tōri-iru (通り入る, pass through and enter).[18]
Another hypothesis takes the name literally: the gate would originally have been some kind of bird perch. This is based on the religious use of bird perches in Asia, such as the Korean sotdae (솟대), which are poles with one or more wooden birds resting on their top. Commonly found in groups at the entrance of villages together with totem poles called jangseung, they are talismans which ward off evil spirits and bring the villagers good luck. "Bird perches" similar in form and function to the sotdae exist also in other shamanistic cultures in China, Mongolia and Siberia. Although they do not look like torii and serve a different function, these "bird perches" show how birds in several Asian cultures are believed to have magic or spiritual properties, and may therefore help explain the enigmatic literal meaning of the torii's name ("bird perch").[6][note 2]
Poles believed to have supported wooden bird figures very similar to the sotdae have been found together with wooden birds, and are believed by some historians to have somehow evolved into today's torii.[24] Intriguingly, in both Korea and Japan single poles represent deities (kami in the case of Japan) and hashira (柱, pole) is the counter for kami.[19]
In Japan birds have also long had a connection with the dead, this may mean it was born in connection with some prehistorical funerary rite. Ancient Japanese texts like the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki for example mention how Yamato Takeru after his death became a white bird and in that form chose a place for his own burial.[6] For this reason, his mausoleum was then called shiratori misasagi (白鳥陵, white bird grave). Many later texts also show some relationship between dead souls and white birds, a link common also in other cultures, shamanic like the Japanese. Bird motifs from the Yayoi and Kofun periods associating birds with the dead have also been found in several archeological sites. This relationship between birds and death would also explain why, in spite of their name, no visible trace of birds remains in today's torii: birds were symbols of death, which in Shinto brings defilement (kegare).[6]
Finally, the possibility that torii are a Japanese invention cannot be discounted. The first torii could have evolved already with their present function through the following sequence of events:
The Shinmei torii
  • Four posts were placed at the corners of a sacred area and connected with a rope, thus dividing sacred and mundane.
  • Two taller posts were then placed at the center of the most auspicious direction, to let the priest in.
  • A rope was tied from one post to the other to mark the border between the outside and the inside, the sacred and the mundane. This hypothetical stage corresponds to a type of torii in actual use, the so-called shime-torii (注連鳥居), an example of which can be seen in front of Ōmiwa Shrine's haiden in Nara (see also the photo in the gallery).
  • The rope was replaced by a lintel.
  • Because the gate was structurally weak, it was reinforced with a tie-beam, and what is today called shinmei torii (神明鳥居) or futabashira torii (二柱鳥居, two pillar torii) (see illustration at right) was born.[1] This theory however does nothing to explain how the gates got their name.
The shinmei torii, whose structure agrees with the historians' reconstruction, consists of just four unbarked and unpainted logs: two vertical pillars (hashira (柱)) topped by a horizontal lintel (kasagi (笠木)) and kept together by a tie-beam (nuki (貫)).[1] The pillars may have a slight inward inclination called uchikorobi (内転び) or just korobi (転び). Its parts are always straight.
Parts and ornamentations[edit]
Torii parts and ornamentations
  • Torii may be unpainted or painted vermilion and black. The color black is limited to the kasagi and the nemaki (根巻, see illustration). Very rarely torii can be found also in other colors. Kamakura's Kamakura-gū for example has a white and red one.
  • The kasagi may be reinforced underneath by a second horizontal lintel called shimaki or shimagi (島木).[25]
  • Kasagi and the shimaki may have an upward curve called sorimashi (反り増し).[26]
  • The nuki is often held in place by wedges (kusabi (楔)). The kusabi in many cases are purely ornamental.
  • At the center of the nuki there may be a supporting strut called gakuzuka (額束), sometimes covered by a tablet carrying the name of the shrine (see photo in the gallery).
  • The pillars often rest on a white stone ring called kamebara (亀腹, turtle belly) or daiishi (台石, base stone). The stone is sometimes replaced by a decorative black sleeve called nemaki (根巻, root sleeve).
  • At the top of the pillars there may be a decorative ring called daiwa (台輪, big ring).[1]
  • The gate has a purely symbolic function and therefore there usually are no doors or board fences, but exceptions exist, as for example in the case of Ōmiwa Shrine's triple-arched torii (miwa torii, see below).[27]
Styles
Structurally, the simplest is the shime torii or chūren torii (注連鳥居) (see illustration below).[note 3] Probably one of the oldest types of torii, it consists of two posts with a sacred rope called shimenawa tied between them.[28]
All other torii can be divided in two families, the shinmei family (神明系) and the myōjin family (明神系).[1][note 4] Torii of the first have only straight parts, the second have both straight and curved parts.[1]
Shinmei family
The shinmei torii and its variants are characterized by straight upper lintels.
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