{"id":26547,"date":"2020-05-07T23:31:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T22:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/?p=26547"},"modified":"2025-03-13T14:48:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T14:48:21","slug":"tiny-torii-of-kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/07\/tiny-torii-of-kyoto\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiny torii of Kyoto"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Like this post? Help us by sharing it!<\/h4><ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Twitter\" class=\"wpfai-twitter wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-twitter fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item pinterest\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;description=&amp;media=\" title=\"Pinterest\" class=\"wpfai-pinterest wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-pinterest fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item linkedin\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;title=\" title=\"Linked In\" class=\"wpfai-linkedin wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-linkedin fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item reddit\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Reddit\" class=\"wpfai-reddit wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-reddit fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul><p>As you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/japanese-destinations\/kyoto\/\">strolling around the narrow streets of Kyoto<\/a>, you might notice little red\u00a0<i>torii<\/i>\u00a0gates, affixed to the walls or tucked down on the ground. Usually, a\u00a0<i>torii<\/i>\u00a0gate is a sure sign there\u2019s a shrine nearby, but here it\u2019s just a blank wall. What\u2019s up with that?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-26607\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori.jpg\" alt=\"Tori \" width=\"550\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori.jpg 630w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori-241x300.jpg 241w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori-454x564.jpg 454w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori-390x485.jpg 390w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/tori-510x634.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a rather down-to-earth explanation for this! In Japan\u2019s Shinto religion, a <i>torii<\/i>\u00a0is the gateway between the sacred and the profane, and are found at the entrance to all shrines. Although there\u2019s no shrine behind the little red\u00a0<i>torii<\/i>, it\u2019s still denoting a sacred space and Japanese are expected to behave similarly. The little<i>\u00a0torii\u00a0<\/i>are in fact there to protect the neighbourhood from drunks urinating against walls, or dumping rubbish.<\/p>\n<p>The story goes that back in Japan\u2019s Edo Period (1603-1868) Kyoto was well-provided with public toilets. However, these were closed down at the start of the Meiji Period (I\u2019m not sure why, but if I had to guess I\u2019d say this would be connected with Japan trying to smarten up its image as it aligned itself with 19-century European values, and cracking down on public urination). Predictably, with no toilets available, people started sneaking up quiet backstreets for a widdle. Someone hit on the idea of putting a tiny <i>torii<\/i>\u00a0on the wall of their house (\u201cpee on this, and the gods will curse you!) and the practice took off.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily Kyoto is once again well-supplied with toilet facilities, but the little\u00a0<i>torii<\/i>\u00a0remain. Late-night drunks and people looking to get rid of their rubbish on the sly still need discouraging, after all!<\/p>\n<h4>Like this post? Help us by sharing it!<\/h4><ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Twitter\" class=\"wpfai-twitter wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-twitter fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item pinterest\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;description=&amp;media=\" title=\"Pinterest\" class=\"wpfai-pinterest wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-pinterest fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item linkedin\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547&amp;title=\" title=\"Linked In\" class=\"wpfai-linkedin wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-linkedin fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item reddit\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F26547\" title=\"Reddit\" class=\"wpfai-reddit wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-reddit fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like this post? Help us by sharing it! As you\u2019re strolling around the narrow streets of Kyoto, you might notice little red\u00a0torii\u00a0gates, affixed to the walls or tucked down on the ground. Usually, a\u00a0torii\u00a0gate is a sure sign there\u2019s a shrine nearby, but here it\u2019s just a blank wall. What\u2019s up with that? There\u2019s a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2367],"tags":[1818,4524,4530,4533],"class_list":["post-26547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japanese-culture-and-history","tag-kyoto","tag-short-story","tag-tiny-torii","tag-torii-gates"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26547"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34931,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26547\/revisions\/34931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}