Kubo Hachiman Shrine Torii

What the Kubo Hachiman Torii Is

Kubo Hachiman Shrine Torii (窪八幡神社鳥居), on the approach to Kubo Hachiman Shrine in Kita, Yamanashi City, Yamanashi Prefecture, is a wooden torii dated to 1535 and designated an Important Cultural Property on February 18, 1949. It is a wooden ryōbu torii, the braced type with auxiliary posts.

The torii stands on the approach well east of the shrine grounds, lined up to face the Shinmon Gate. The shrine chronicle Ōimata Jinja Hongi dates it to 1535, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs follows that year, placing it in the late Muromachi period.

Yamanashi Prefecture's tourism service says the torii was made in a yakudoshi, an unlucky year of age, of Takeda Nobutora. Nobutora and his son Shingen were devoted patrons of Kubo Hachiman, and many of the shrine buildings took their present form in their time.

Why the Kubo Hachiman Torii Matters

Yamanashi City describes the Kubo Hachiman torii as the oldest surviving wooden torii in Japan. A torii stands in the open through every season, and wooden ones usually rot and are replaced. A Muromachi-period wooden torii still on its feet is what makes this one exceptional.

In a ryōbu torii, each of the two main pillars is braced front and back by shorter auxiliary posts, tied in with tie beams. The bracing keeps a wooden torii steady, which may help explain how this one has lasted.

What to Look For at the Kubo Hachiman Torii

Walking up the approach, the first thing you notice is the pair of auxiliary posts hugging each main pillar, joined to it by tie beams. That arrangement is what defines a ryōbu torii.

Look at the wood itself. The timber has darkened over centuries, and the torii, standing among village houses, sits comfortably in its surroundings.

Pass under it and look west: the bark roof of the Kubo Hachiman Shinmon Gate appears at the end of the approach. The axis linking torii and gate is the shrine's formal front.

Visiting the Kubo Hachiman Torii

Kubo Hachiman Shrine Torii stands outside the grounds on the approach leading east, in the open, and can be seen freely. The approach is also a village road, so watch for cars if you stop to take photographs.

Directions to the shrine and general visiting information are gathered on the Kubo Hachiman Shrine page.