Mon (門, 'gate') is a generic Japanese term for gate, used either alone or as a suffix, in referring to the many gates found at Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, traditional-style buildings, and castles in Japan.
Significance
Unlike gates of secular buildings, most temple and shrine gates are purely symbolic elements of liminality — they cannot be completely closed and instead mark the transition between the mundane and the sacred. In many cases, such as the sanmon, a temple gate is believed to have purifying, cleansing properties.
Description
Gate size is measured in ken, where one ken is the interval between two pillars of a traditional-style building. A temple's rōmon, for example, can range from a maximum of 5×2 ken to a more common 3×2 ken, down to a single ken. The word is typically translated in English as "bay" and is better understood as an indication of proportions than as a unit of measurement.
Like the temples they belong to, gates can be built in the wayō, daibutsuyō, zen'yō, or setchūyō architectural styles. They are commonly named after:
- Their location — e.g., chūmon (中門, "intermediate gate"), omotemon (表門, "front gate"), or karametemon (搦手門, "back entrance gate").
- The deity they house — e.g., Niōmon, a gate enshrining two guardian gods called Niō in its outer bays.
- Their structure or shape — e.g., nijūmon ("two-story gate") and rōmon ("tower gate").
- Their function — e.g., sanmon, the most important gate of a Zen or Jōdo temple.
These naming categories are not mutually exclusive; the same gate may be referred to by different names depending on context. For example, a Niōmon may also correctly be called a nijūmon if it has two stories.
Common Types
- Hakkyakumon (八脚門, "eight-legged gate") — Named for its eight secondary pillars supporting four main pillars under the gate's ridge; it has twelve pillars in total.
- Heijūmon (塀重門) — A gate in a wall consisting of just two square posts.
- Kabukimon (冠木門) — A gate formed by two square posts and a horizontal beam.
- Karamon (唐門, "Chinese gate") — Characterized by a karahafu, an undulating bargeboard peculiar to Japan. Used at castles, Buddhist temples, and Shinto shrines.
- Kōraimon (高麗門, "Korean gate") — Used at castles, temples, and daimyō residences; consists of a tiled, gabled roof on two pillars, plus two smaller roofs over secondary pillars on the rear of the gate.
- Masugata (枡形) — A defensive structure consisting of a courtyard along a castle wall with two gates set at a right angle. The external gate is typically a kōraimon, the internal one a yaguramon.
- Munamon (棟門) — Two pillars sustaining a gabled roof; similar to a kōraimon but lacking the roofed secondary pillars.
- Nagayamon (長屋門) — A gate that allows traffic through a nagaya (a long row house where low-status samurai lived).
- Nijūmon — A two-storied gate with a pent roof between the two stories; distinguishable from the similar rōmon by the presence of that pent roof.
- Niōmon — A gate enshrining statues of two warden gods, the Niō, in its two outer bays.
- Rōmon — A two-storied, single-roofed gate where the second story is inaccessible and offers no usable room; distinguishable from the nijūmon by the absence of a pent roof between stories.
- Sanmon — The most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, also used by other schools (particularly Jōdo). It stands between the sōmon (outer gate) and the butsuden (main hall).
- Sōmon — The gate at the entrance of a temple, often preceding the larger and more important sanmon.
- Torii — A distinctive symbolic gate usually associated with Shinto shrines but also common at Buddhist temples.
- Uzumimon (埋門, "buried gate") — Gates opened in a castle wall, used to connect surfaces at different levels, appearing as if buried in the ground.
- Yaguramon (櫓門) — A gate with a yagura (turret) on top.
- Yakuimon (薬医門) — A gabled gate with no pillars under its ridge, supported by four pillars at its corners.
- Shikyakumon (四脚門, "four-legged gate") — Named for its four secondary pillars supporting two main pillars under the gate's ridge; it has six pillars in total.
Torii
Structurally very different from other mon is the torii (normally called simply torii), a two-legged gate in stone or wood regularly associated with Shinto but also common within Japanese Buddhist temples. The origins of the torii are unknown; although several theories exist, none has gained universal acceptance. Because the use of symbolic gates is widespread in Asia — similar structures can be found in India, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, and within Nicobarese and Shompen villages — historians believe it may be an imported tradition. It most often symbolically marks the entrance of a Shinto shrine and is never closed.
