Photo of the Day: Torii Close-up

Red torii gates are the best torii gates as far as I’m concerned, and if they have kanji engraved on them, so much the better.

This gate is from a small shrine just around the corner from where we live. We walk by the steep steps leading to it every day, but it wasn’t until just last week that I finally climbed up and took a look around. Small, quaint, sweet—and lively thanks to the preschool next door. Laughter accompanies you as you wander the tiny grounds, just as curious eyes follow your every move.

The kanji can be read “hou”, as in “honou” for “dedication” or “offering”, or as “matsu” and “tatematsu” with “ru” added to the end to make verbs, as in “to offer” or “to revere”.

Of course, there are plenty of other combinations, but these seem to be some of the major ones.