mon

gate

There are several varieties of mon, or gates, in Japan. Kara-mon are Chinese gates with the special convex arch. San-mon translates as "mountain gate" and often refers to the main gate. However, san also means "three" and sanmon have three doors. Aka-mon and shu-mon are red gates. Nio-mon are gates guarded by two guardian kings. Gates are also named after the side of the compound they are on, such as kita-mon (north gate) and nan-mon (south gate). Dai-mon, such as the gate in Tokyo, means "great gate" and Nandai-mon, such as the gate at Horyu-ji, means "great south gate." The characters for ote are "big hand," but an ote-mon is typically the main gate into a castle.