Sanmon
Zen Buddhist temple gate
title: "Sanmon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["gates-in-japan", "japanese-buddhist-architecture", "building-types", "buildings-and-structures-by-type", "urban-studies-and-planning-terminology"] description: "Zen Buddhist temple gate" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanmon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Zen Buddhist temple gate ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Tofukuji-Sanmon-M9589.jpg" caption="National Treasure]])"] ::
A sanmon or sangedatsumon is the most important mon of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen shichidō garan, the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple. It can be often found in temples of other denominations too. Most sanmon are 2- or 3-bay nijūmon (a type of two-storied gate), but the name by itself does not imply any specific architecture.
Position, function and structure
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Komyoji_Winter.jpg" caption="山廊}}, a small building present on both sides of the gate and containing a stairway to the gate's second story. (Both ''sanrō'' are clearly visible in [[Tōfuku-ji]]'s photo above.)"] ::
The sanmon's size is an indicator of a Zen temple's status. Structurally, the sanmon of a first rank temple as Nanzen-ji in Kyoto is a two-storied, 5x2 bay, three entrance gate (see photo below). Its three gates are called kūmon, musōmon and muganmon and symbolize the three gates to enlightenment, or satori. Entering, pilgrims can symbolically free themselves from the three passions of ton, shin, and chi. The fact the gate has entrances but no doors, and cannot therefore be closed, emphasizes its purely symbolic function as a limit between the sacred and the profane.
A temple of the second rank will have a two-storied, 3x2-bay, single entrance gate (see photo below). The second story of a first or second rank temple usually contains statues of Shakyamuni or of goddess Kannon, and of the 16 Rakan, and hosts periodical religious ceremonies. The side bays of sanmon of the first two ranks may also house statues of the Niō, wardens who are in charge of repelling evil.
A third rank temple will have a single-storied, 1x2-bay, single entrance gate.
Three ranks
Image:Myotsuji Sanmon 1.jpg| A middle rank, three-bay sanmon at Myōtsū-ji, Fukui prefecture Image:Sozenji (Higashiyodogawa, Osaka) sanmon.jpg| A low rank sanmon at Sozen-ji in Osaka
Second story
Some images of the second story of Kōmyō-ji's sanmon in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is a high rank Jōdo sect sanmon, the largest of the Kantō region. File:Komyoji,-Kamakura gate stairs.jpg|The stairs to the second story File:Kamakura Komyoji Inside The Sanmon 3.jpg|The second story File:Kamakura Komyoji Sanmon 2.jpg|The second story, exit to the balcony File:Kamakura Komyoji Inside-the-sanmon-1.jpg|Sacred images in the main room
Examples
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Chionin35n3200.jpg" caption="[[Chion-in]]'s ''sanmon'' (Japan's National Treasure)"] ::
Case 1
- Chion-in's sanmon (Kyoto) – The most important sanmon in Japan
- Nanzen-ji's sanmon (Kyoto)
- Kuonji's sanmon (Minobu)
Case 2
Notes
References
- {{cite journal |last = Fowler |first = Sherry |year = 2007 |title = Review of "Daitokuji: The Visual Cultures of a Zen Monastery" by Gregory P. A. Levine |journal = Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |issue = 34/2 |doi = 10.18874/jjrs.34.2.2007.443-447 |url = http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/774.pdf
- "Sanmon" from the Japanese Art Net User System (JAANUS) online dictionary accessed on May 2, 2009
- Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten (岩波日本史辞典), CD-Rom Version. Iwanami Shoten, 1999-2001.
References
- JAANUS
- The space between two pillars, {{nihongo. ''[[Ken (architecture). ken]]''. 間 in Japanese
- Fowler
- [http://www.zojoji.or.jp/en/index.html Zōjō-ji] accessed on May 1, 2009
- Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten
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