A traditional Japanese gate, the Torii, is most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.
Torii are traditionally made from wood or stone and are an elegant way to mark the transition from the outside world into your serene backyard sanctuary.
The function of a torii is to mark the entrance to a sacred space. For this reason, the road leading to a Shinto shrine (sandō) is almost always straddled by one or more torii, which are therefore the easiest way to distinguish a shrine from a Buddhist temple. If the sandō passes under multiple torii, the outer of them is called ichi no torii (一の鳥居?, first torii). The following ones, closer to the shrine, are usually called, in order, ni no torii (二の鳥居?, second torii) and san no torii (三の鳥居?, third torii). Other torii can be found further into the shrine to represent increasing levels of holiness as one nears the inner sanctuary (honden), core of the shrine. Also, because of the strong relationship between Shinto shrines and the Japanese Imperial family, a torii stands also in front of the tombs of each Emperor.