tori gate

[irkwater]

I am thinking of erecting a a tori gate
Anybody got any ideas

Regards to all Brian

[George Nesfield]

Hi brian,
I used to have a torii in my garden I made with the trunks of some conifers that I had cut down but after a few years they started to rot and I never replaced it, mainly because I had my moongate and the moongate and the torii didn't look to good together so one had to go.
They are not to difficult to make, post a photo when you have got it made.
George.

[Karesansui]

Hi Brian
Although not Torii as such, here is a link to some genuine gate examples that also include some torii-like gates that may be of inspiration also for your private garden. Indeed not an easy task.
http://www.zen-garden.org/html/page_obj ... #FENCESXMP

[George Nesfield]

Hi Piet,
Those are mainly gateways, a torri is far easier to build than those, at least a simple one, not a fancy one.
George.

[whis4ey]

Mine is as simple as they come
Did you know that the Torii was originally a chicken roost?

[Herb]

Brian - I built a tori gate about 12 years ago a year or (and was very proud of it) until a year or two later I read somewhere that a tori gate usually indicates the presence nearby of a Shinto Temple so that in a private garden some Japanese would feel it was a bit out of place. So I cut the top off it and added a roof instead, and (in our garden at any rate) I incline to prefer it. I can't find any before and after pictures or I'd post them.

[whis4ey]

The Torii Gate is an indication that the visitor is entering a place that is a 'shrine' or somewhere that is to be 'revered' as a sacred place (or that there is such a place at least nearby)
The Japanese Garden itself is (to the Japanese) a 'shrine to nature'. Nature itself is something to be revered (and is so even to many westeners). The garden will often contain elements that are such (my own garden contains such an area with a miniature Mount Fuji (sacred to the Japanese) and a Buddah
To use a Torii Gate as the entrance to a Japanese Garden is thus quite acceptable, and many of the well known public Japanese Gardens do so
In my own garden the Torii Gate is on a jetty placed out into the pond. The symbolism is that the pond represents the great oceans. The visitor arrives at the entrance in his 'boat' ties up to the jetty and therefore enters the 'sacred area' through the Torii
Whilst Herb's Torii may now look better with a 'roof' I think his reasons for disposing of the Torii were flawed

[Herb]

Sam -

Maybe I reached the right result via the wrong reasoning. Still, when I try imagining my garden as a "shrine", I can't help feeing that it takes the idea of "shrine" a bit far. I guess it's a matter of personal taste, eh?

Herb

[whis4ey]

Translation is a wonderful thing Herb
'shrine' might mean something special to one person and something else to someone else, or it may just have become something rather more in the translation itself
I, personally, have no problem whatsoever with the idea of a Japanese Garden being somewhat of a 'sacred place', as I feel the peace and tranquility when I enter my own Garden. It is a place of solitude and peace and most definitely contents the mind .... that which a shrine itself would do to the souls of those with the proper beliefs
I also have no problems with understanding the creation and symbolism of the Japanese Garden being accepted as a 'shrine to nature' i.e. somewhere where the wonders of nature and creation itself can be portrayed and enjoyed with proper reverence
Methinks you could find these thoughts within the minds of the Japanese creators of the gardens themselves

[George Nesfield]

Brian,
I am pleased that you posted your Torii post because at last we have people talking to each other.
something that hasn't happened here for quite some time.
George.

[whis4ey]

Good work Brian .. keeping George happy is a worth while achievement these days

Still, when I try imagining my garden as a "shrine", I can't help feeing that it takes the idea of "shrine" a bit far

I have to agree wholeheartedly with that remark Herb
I don't think any of us could imagine their gardens as a shrine of any description
Don't forget though, that the Japanese or Chinese lanterns started off their lives in similar Shinto temples and such
Gardeners the world over have adapted even everyday items as garden 'ornaments', and the Japanese have proved to be no exception
I myself have a postbox, a pillar box and two clothes mangles which sit nicely in an area of my own garden (not the Japanese one )
Maybe the Torii has moved in the same direction?

[Herb]

Just to give a better idea maybe of the actual change from Tori gate to roofed gate, here's an attempt to show what it looked like when the tori gate was there and what the effect was after sawing the top off the tori and substituting the roof.

http://www.pbase.com/image/115508768

[George Nesfield]

Hi Sam,
Good work Brian .. keeping George happy is a worth while achievement these days

Thanks for those few kind words,

I have a sausage machine in my garage, that I kept from my butchers shop which I have painted in its origanal colours of red and black It would look great in a garden ,but not mine as I have no where to put it.
George.

[Herb]

George -

Priceless! What would we do without you and Sam?

Bert

[whis4ey]

Your Torii was nice Herb, but I think that I too prefer the roofed version
It looks good