Sandō

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The sandō at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto
A sandō (参道 visiting path) in Japanese architecture is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.[1] Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto torii, in the second by a Buddhist sanmon, gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. The word do Template:道 is meant to mean both a path of the feet and a path of one's life's efforts. See, Karatedo. c.f. Taoism 道 There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course.

A sandō can be called a front sandō (表参道 omote-sandō), if it is the main entrance, or a rear sandō (裏参道 ura-sandō) if it is a secondary point of entrance, especially to the rear; side sandō (脇参道 waki-sandō) are also sometimes found. The famous Omotesandō district in Tokyo, for example, takes its name from the nearby main access path to Meiji Shrine where an ura-sandō also used to exist. [2]

Gallery

See also

  • Shendao, a decorated road to a grave of an emperor or another dignitary in China

References

  1. Iwanami Kōjien (広辞苑) Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version.
  2. "Omotesandō ga aru nara, Urasandō mo aru no de wa" (in Japanese). Ameba News. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
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