Belfry Gate

This weathered wooden gate from 1318 stands in the middle of a Shinto shrine, and its presence there tells a story. It is built in the style of a Buddhist temple belfry gate, complete with two-stepped wooden bracketing under the eaves, a reminder of the era when Buddhism and Shinto coexisted on the same grounds. When the two were officially separated in 1868, the bell was removed and sold. What remains is a fine example of a shikyakumon four-legged gate, with a plaque on the upper level inscribed by former prime minister Yamagata Aritomo reading immeasurably old, but ever new.