Gateway to the realm of the Gods!
Or at least that is the intended effect. Many shrines are built this way, so that if you enter the inner shrine at the right time of day, it looks very impressive.
According to Shinto, the native religion of Japan, shrines exist in places where the world of the Gods and our world overlap, therefore we can interact with the gods in these places.
The shrine in this photo is Shiratori Shrine (she-rah-toh-ree). And this gateway in the photo is called a torii gate, as I'm sure many of you know. So... we could say it's a Shiratori torii. Say that 5 times fast!
Thank you for reading. :)
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I post one photo everyday, as well as some misc posts such as haiku, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time.