Where is the torii located?

Answer 1

A "torii" is a gate or entrance structure that symbolically represents a portal between the spirit world and the physical world. It looks a bit like a bird perch, which is where the name comes from. A torii may be found standing alone in some location to mark a spiritual spot, but a torii is most commonly found at the entrance to any Shinto shrine. Torii may also be found in smaller symbolic form near a Buddhist altar to mark it as relevant also to the Shinto. There are several famous large torii in Japan that might be referred to as "the" torii. One of the most famous is the torii that stands in the sea near the Shinto shrine in Hiroshima bay. It was reproduced by Disney's Epcot Center as one of the world's most famous landmarks.

Shinto is not the only religion to recognize spirit portals. In Babylonia, the root of the name ("Bab") means gate. (Not "land of many languages" as sometimes reported.) "Bab" is used not only to refer to a giant gate they constructed, but also for the principal aspect of their religion, which is the mystery of the gate between this world and the next. The Hebrew religion that later became the basis for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam used a curtained doorway to separate the holy from the profane. Passing through a gate is sometimes used as a symbol for birth, or for rebirth. A somewhat similar concept of a door between the spiritually blessed or purified and the rest of the world is echoed in the book of John when Jesus, speaking of rebirth through faith, says "I am the door". During the middle ages, Christianity used ornate openwork fences to separate the people from the altar. Many churches still have raised areas to symbolically mark the separation. Islam still uses ornate grill-work to separate the men's area from the women's area in order to keep the men's area "pure", and also separates the most holy area of the Kaaba from the eyes of the profane with the use of a curtain.