| Author | Message | ||
     Dino Gilley |
I have a high respect for the Japanese culture and the art forms that it gives and I am making my website and Logo for my design company in the style of japanese Sumi (ink painting) and the Logo I want to be a silhouette of the Torii Gate symbol. Would this be offensive to Japanese persons or culture??? I find the Torii Gate inspiring and beautiful and would love to have it as my logo.But I wanted to ask. | ||
| info |
Dear Dino Gilley, welcome to our Japanese forum, Dino and thank you very much for the compliment. Yes, it is a good idea to use Torii 鳥居 symbol for your logo because Torii is a typical Japanese construction, contrary to Buddhism temples which had been imported from China. During Yaoi period around 2000 years ago, Japanese villages were surrounded by a wooden wall (it was a typical civil war period), and Torii gate should be a relic of this period: connecting outer and inner worlds, ancient people thought the gate should have a magical power. Etymologically speaking, Torii should be related to Tori= bird 鳥, but we don't know if it is because birds perch frequently there or bird idols were put there in order to protect the village against an evil spirit. Kind regards, |