What a ryōbu torii is
A ryōbu torii takes the form of a myōjin torii and adds short bracing posts, chigobashira, before and behind each of the two main posts, tied to them with cross members. Small roofs are often set over the main posts and bracing posts. With six posts in all, the bracing posts supporting the main ones, it is also called a four-legged torii or a gongen torii.
The chigobashira do the same job as the bracing posts of a gate, keeping the main posts from leaning. They are used where main posts alone would be unstable, as for large torii or those standing in water or on slopes. The name is often explained by Ryōbu Shinto, a doctrine combining Shinto and Buddhism.
Reading the records and the torii
Records give material and type together. The torii of Kubo Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi City is a timber ryōbu torii of 1535 and an Important Cultural Property. The Hachiman shrine torii at Ashimori Hachimangu in Okayama is a stone ryōbu torii bearing an inscription dated 1361, likewise an Important Cultural Property. Old examples survive in both timber and stone.
On site, look at the feet of the posts. Short posts set before and behind each main post and linked to it by cross members mark a ryōbu torii. Whether roofs cap the bracing posts and how strongly the top lintel curves vary from example to example.
References
- 窪八幡神社鳥居｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/874
- 八幡神社鳥居（葦守八幡宮）｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/102/3000
Last verified: 2026.09.26