Sandō
Introduction The ''sandō'' at Fushimi Inari Taisha in KyotoA  in Japanese architecture is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple. 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  can refer both to a path or road, and to the path of one's life's efforts. There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course.A ''sandō'' can be called a , if it is the main entrance, or a  if it is a secondary point of entrance, especially to the rear;  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.
Gallery File:Ebaraji sanmon.jpg|A Buddhist ''sandō''File:Miyazaki-jingu, second torii gate 01.jpg|The ''sandō'' at Miyazaki JingūFile:Taroubougu 3.JPG|A ''sandō'' with stairsFile:Kozanji Kyoto Kyoto07s5s4592.jpg|The ''sandō'' at Kōzan-ji, KyotoFile:Tsurugaoka Hachimangu From Third Torii until First Torii.jpg|The sandō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, Kamakura
See also * ''Shendao'', a decorated road to a grave of an emperor or another dignitary in China* Glossary of Shinto
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