Torii – the gateway to a divine realm

Torii 鳥居 gates are mostly found in front of shrines in Japan. It is an important cultural symbol as it marks the entrance to a sacred ground or a divine territory. Although the origin of torii 鳥居 is unclear there exists a few theories. It is often believed that construction of torii 鳥居  was passed down to Japan from […]

3 Most Beautiful Places in Japan | 日本三景

In 1643 during the Edo perdiod, a neo-confusian scholar named Hayashi Gahō wrote a book called Nihonkokujisekikō (日本国事跡考) where he mentioned about three beautiful sceneries in Japan. Gahō travelled the whole country and admired Matsushima (in Miyagi), Amanohashidate (in Kyoto) and Miyajima (in Hiroshima) the most. Later, these three places together came to be known as nihonsankei (日本三景). Nihonsankei is also linked to […]