Japanese Torii Gate Joinery

I'm interested in learning the proper joinery of a traditional Torii. I've heard about a book "Compilation of Shrine and Temple Construction Diagrams" but have not seen it online. Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places.

Any ideas where to find a copy, even used?

What other books are available to help with joinery for the Torii?

Thanks,

Jonathan,

There is no English book by that title, "Compilation of Shrine and Temple Construction Diagrams", as far as I'm aware of - though in Japanese there are books with titles that would translate as something quite close to that.

How's your Japanese reading ability, by the way? Though these books contain lots of diagrams, the text often has important details to add, including what NOT to do. There are numerous styles of torii, some appropriate for certain contexts and not others.

There are several books with sections giving proportions of torii, however only a little info on the joinery. I have this sort of information, and...

...I would be interested to know WHY you are wanting to learn the joinery for a torii - do you intend to build one? If so, for what application?

~Chris

Hi Chris,

Yes, I have crafted several of these Torii and I want to learn how to construct them in the traditional manner.

I have a traditional client that is quite interested in a large torii. Having crafted several already, although not quite traditional, I want to learn the proper methods.

I am sending you an Email message, to kurisuhoru@gmail.com, with attachements that show what I have done and give you an idea of the scope of this project.

Thank you for any information you can share regarding torii joinery.

This is something that interests me greatly as well. What would be the appropriate context for a shimmei style Torii fashioned from raw (bark still on) red cedar?

Appropriate context? On the approach to a Shrine. It is a religious item as far as I'm concerned and has no other suitable context.

As for leaving the bark on, that is an invitation to insect pests. Red Cedar would be an okay choice for the posts otherwise, though it is rather weak.

And as for the Shinmei style of torii, why that one in particular? There are two different torii that get called 'shinmei'. One has has minimal post splay, and the penetrating tie does not actually penetrate through the posts. The other type called 'shinmei' is has the normal penetrating tie, a stub-post in the middle atop the tie, and a curved double cap. Is there something in particular you like about that style - depending upon which one you mean of course?


~Chris

The former is what I had in mind. I ask because it's one of the first constructions my former employer (a landscape architect) asked me to build... But he had no idea of how to go about it and had no desire to give me the time to work out joinery... 12" galvanised lag bolts.

It was altered from the pure form by incorporating it into a fence and adding a solid gate. It was the outside entrance to a japanese influenced garden.

Pretty much everything we did used ERC for the priciple posts, all with the bark still. He and his neighbor lived in a large stand of it.

After I wrote my previous reply, I was wondering if you were referring to Eastern Red Cedar, a variety of juniper.

I'm originally from the west coast, so when I see the words 'Red Cedar' I always associate it to Western Red Cedar, thuja plicata.


~Chris

Yup, Juniperus virginiana... I tend to have the opposite problem as I've been living on this side of the country all my adult life.

I finished a torii next to my bamboo grove last week. Here is the link to the PicasaWeb photo collection:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jimrudholm/Torii?authkey=Gv1sRgCIPBnLidzN3yGg#

Nice set up for turning columns. How long did it take to turn these columns?

What is the maximum diameter and length for this setup?

Did the Harbor Freight router last until the end?

Man Jim but you sure made alot of sawdust! Did you thru mortise the header thru the posts? That must've been fun :-)

Hi,
About ten hours for the first one, 8 or so for the second. This does not include time spent setting up the lathe and making some modifications. I did not keep a close time sheet.
The fixture could have handled a bigger log than the 15"x11.5' ones.
The Harbor Freight router replaced a Freud FT-2000e (almost new) that failed(speed control module) about half-way through the first column. The HF did the job.

That's interesting. I once read about turning ship masts using this technique. As I recall the masts were about 60 feet long. They were all turned with a slowly revolving lathe and a traveling router.

What RPM were you using?

Did you go through more than one bit?

What was the depth of cut on each pass?

Would you anticipate that a log say 18" in diameter and 25 feet long would sag enough to change the taper or straightness of the sides?

Thanks for stretching my mind.

Lots of chips, for sure.
The mortises were made with a drill press and 2" hole saw that was about 2" deep. Holes were drilled on 1" centers and slugs knocked out with a chisel. I made four extensions from 3/4" round bar to drill past the center, then rotated the post to drill from the other side. Pilot holes, 1/4", were pre-drilled. The corners were squared up with a Husky electric chain saw.

I did not check the rpm, I would guess 1"/sec. at the cutter. A too strong cut would slow the rpm and give time to back out the router. One 1/2" x2" carbide inserted bit did the job. Depth of cut was about 1/2". The logs were pretty dry Douglas fir, cedar would be softer and probably last longer.
No idea on the 18"x25'. A center roller rest could be added with a fabricated ring fitted to the log. They must have had some intermediate rests for a 60' mast unless it was for a ship-of-the-line!