Torii - Torii Parts and Ornamentations

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?).

• Kasagi and the shimaki may have an upward curve called sorimashi (反り増し?).

• 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).

• 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).