The Tofukuji sanmon, or main gate (also known as the “Enlightenment Gate” or the “Mountain Gate”), is part of the greater Tofukuji temple complex located in Higashiyama Ward Kyoto. The Zen Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect was founded in 1236 and construction was completed in 1255, and it became one of the five gozan, or main Zen monasteries, in Kyoto.

The sanmon, in many texts referred to as the sammon, burned down in 1336 and the current gate was constructed over a period of almost 40 years starting in 1384 and completed in 1425. It is the oldest and largest of its kind in Japan, and is one of the most historic buildings of the Muromachi period (1392-1573). Because of it’s historic nature to both Zen Buddhism and the Kyoto area of Japan, it was designated a National Treasure in 1952. For hundreds of years the sanmon stood without repair until 1969, when the entire building was disassembled, repaired and reconstructed by the Ministry of Culture at the cost of $2.5 million dollars.

The sanmon is two bays wide, five bays long, and is twenty-two meters high. The gate has three entrances and two exterior covered staircases and is topped by a two-tiered hipped-gable roof. The most striking aspect of the Tofukuji sanmon is it’s style of architecture. A mix of both the Chinese style (kara-yo) and Indian style (tenjiku-yo), as well as influence from the Japanese style (wa-yo) of previous years lend to the simple, Chinese Southern Song exterior and brightly ornamented interior.

Another striking feature of the Tofukuji sanmon is it’s second floor. Brightly painted and highly decorated and carved, the second floor of the gate is home to the sculptural images of Sakyamuni Buddha and his sixteen rakan (by Teicho) and ceiling paintings by Densucho and Densukan.