The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine Coloring Pages

A Shrine Standing on the Sea

Itsukushima Shrine is a shrine in Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture. Its biggest feature is that the shrine buildings are built on top of the sea. When the tide comes in, the buildings and the torii gate look like they are floating on the water.
Why is it on top of the sea? That is because the island itself has been honored as a god. People say it was built over the sea so they could worship without digging up the ground or cutting down trees.

The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine Has Six Legs

The red gate standing in the sea is called a Ryobu Torii. It has two thick main posts, plus two smaller support posts in front and behind them, making six posts in total. Normal torii gates only have two legs, so this is a big difference.
As for its size, it is 16.6 meters tall to the very top. That is as high as a 5-story building! The two thick posts are made from natural camphor trees, so they are not perfectly straight, but a little wavy.

It Is Not Buried in the Ground

Surprisingly, The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine is not buried in the seabed. It is simply placed on top of many wooden poles driven into the sea floor.
It still does not fall over because the whole thing weighs about 60 tons! Also, the very top part called the Shimagi is shaped like a box, and it is packed full of stones. This heavy weight keeps The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine standing upright.

Taira no Kiyomori Built It

The warrior Taira no Kiyomori made the shrine into the grand size it is today. That was around the year 1168. The main parts of the buildings standing today were rebuilt in 1241.
Six buildings are National Treasures, including the main hall, worship hall, and corridors. In 1996, it was also named a World Cultural Heritage site.

Why Is It Vermilion Red?

There are reasons why the shrine's buildings and torii gate are painted bright red. One reason is that vermilion red was believed to keep bad things away.
Another practical reason is that the red paint used long ago helped protect the wood from rotting. For Itsukushima Shrine standing over the sea, this was very important!

The View Changes with the Time of Day

The fun part about Itsukushima Shrine is that the view changes completely with the tides.
When the tide is high, the gate and shrine buildings look like they are floating on the sea. When the tide goes out, the sea floor appears, and you can even walk right up to the base of The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine. Even at the exact same spot, the view looks totally different between morning and evening. It is a place you will want to visit again and again!

Vermilion Is Not Plain "Red"

The color of The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine is vermilion. It is a little more orange than normal red. If you color it with just one red pencil, it will look dark and heavy.
Here is a trick: color a thin layer of orange first, then add red on top of it. That will bring it much closer to real vermilion! On the shady side of the pillars, add just a tiny bit of dark brown to make them look nice and round.

Make the Roof Green

The top roof uses copper plates, so it is a bluish green color. Copper turns this color as time goes by.
Vermilion and green look very bold together! If you color this part separately, it will suddenly look like the real thing. The underside of the roof is the color of wood (brown), so color the top and bottom differently.

Do Not Color Over the Wood Grain

The thick pillars have lines for the wood grain, right? Try to just trace these lines with dark brown, and keep the area around them vermilion.
If you color deeply between the lines, the pillars will look completely black. The secret is to leave the lines as they are and color lightly.

Do Not Color Too Much Sea

If you color the whole sea blue, your picture will look heavy. We recommend that you color lightly with light blue, moving your pencil only side to side.
If you leave the paper white around the wave lines, it will look like sparkling water! If you color just a little darker near the bottom of The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine, it will look like its shadow is on the water.

Color the Mountains and Shrine Buildings in the Back Lightly

Be sure to color the far-off mountains and the shrine buildings in the back left much lighter than the front. Color The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine in the front darkly, and color the background lightly. Just doing that will give your picture great depth!
Instead of using just one green for the mountains, mix yellow-green and blue-green to make them look like a real forest.

It Is Held Down with Stones Inside

The top crossbar of The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine is called the shimaki. It is shaped like a box, and it is packed full of small stones inside. These stones act as weights to keep the torii gate steady.
Many wooden posts are driven into the seabed, and the gate sits right on top of them. It is not buried in the ground at all. It stands using only its heavy weight of about 60 tons!

The Current Gate Is the 8th Generation

The Great Torii of Itsukushima Shrine has been rebuilt many times. The one standing today is said to be the 8th generation since Taira no Kiyomori built the first one.
It was built in 1875. It has been standing strong for nearly 150 years against the sea breeze and waves.

There Are Gaps Between the Floorboards

If you look closely at the floor of the shrine buildings, you will see tiny gaps between the wooden boards. This is not broken. It was made this way on purpose!
When waves rise from below during severe storms, water passes through the gaps so the floor does not break. This clever idea works because the shrine is built right over the sea.

Three Goddess Sisters Are Worshiped Here

The main gods of Itsukushima Shrine are three goddesses, including Ichikishimahime no Mikoto. The three are said to be sisters, and people believe they protect travelers at sea.
That is why Itsukushima Shrine has always been loved as a guardian for people traveling by boat.