EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH
Taking in a full view of the torii

By Jay Sakashita

Symbols are multilayered expressions of meaning where cultural values, religious notions and political sentiments blend in a rich compost of diverse ideas and raw emotions. In such fertile ground lie the seeds of both unity and controversy.

The Shinto torii is a Japanese symbol. And although the 25-foot vermilion structure in Mo'ili'ili was built as a symbol of peace and friendship between Honolulu and Hiroshima, a debate on the appropriateness of the symbol has been raised as well.

On the one side of the argument are those who claim that the torii is a symbol of Japanese culture.

A call to the Japanese Chamber of Commerce connected me to a rather irate woman who emphatically stated that the Mo'ili'ili torii was not a religious symbol but a cultural one.

Apparently, she had fielded numerous inquiries regarding the free-standing gate so the task of repeating the same answer had grown tiresome. In her view, the torii simply marks the Honolulu-Hiroshima cultural ties.

On the other side of the debate are those who see the Mo'ili'ili torii as a symbol of the Shinto religion, and therefore a departure from the separation of church and state.

The meaning and power of symbols, be they cultural, religious or otherwise, shift along with the context in which they function. Having bread and wine in one setting, for example, is to experience the presence of Christ. In another context, it is simply lunch.

The torii functions as an explicitly religious symbol when it marks the entry into a sacred arena, which, in most cases, means providing a gateway to a Shinto shrine. The Mo'ili'ili torii, interestingly, does not mark the entrance to any shrine but, with some imagination, could be viewed as a gateway to a health food store on one side and a fast-food restaurant on the other.

In the view of the Rev. Masa Takizawa of Kotohira Jinsha in Kalihi, the Mo'ili'ili structure cannot properly be called a torii because there is no shrine there. As the Rev. Daiya Amano of Izumo Taisha downtown told me, the Mo'ili'ili torii is "just decoration."

Observing the few people who approached the torii one afternoon, I noticed that they walked around and not through it, as is the common practice. This could be accounted for in part by the setting: The standing plaques at both ends and the gravel circle that encloses it make walking beneath the crossbeams and between its pillars cumbersome and uninviting.

All this underscores the intent of the Mo'ili'ili torii sponsors.

The torii is not a religious symbol. At most it is a replica of a religious symbol.

Shinto and the symbols associated with it have been used at various times in Japanese history to promote religious, cultural, and political agendas. Now, as then, as is often the case with such disputes, the controversy surrounding the Mo'ili'ili torii tells us more about the interpreters of the torii than it does about the structure itself.

Jay Sakashita teaches religion at Leeward Community College and at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.