Japanese Terms: Ise Shrine

torii. A gate marking the entrance to a Shinto shrine.

Mitarashi. The site for purification at the Inner Shrine.

Shin-no-mihashira. The "heart pillar," which is buried in the ground under the main sanctuaries of the Ise shrines.

chigi. The crossed wooden rafters which project from either end of the roof on many Shinto shrines.