Sanmon (Sanmon)

Japanese: 山門(三門) - さんもん

The Buddhist gate of a Zen temple. Sanmon means the "Three Gates of Liberation." It means the main gate of a Zen temple, and is by extension also used as a symbolic name for the temple itself. Standing in front of the Buddha hall, originally corridors extended from both sides and attached to the sides of the Buddha hall or lecture hall. It corresponds to the central gate of an ancient temple, and the equivalent of the Great South Gate is called the main gate and is small in size. The main gate is a multi-story gate with five bays in front, and some are large with three bays on the side. It used to connect the bell tower and drum tower on the left and right, but these have been omitted and many have been made into a mountain corridor by covering the entrance to the upper floors.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

禅宗伽藍の仏門。〈三門〉というのは〈三解脱門〉の意とされる。禅寺一山の正門を意味し，転じて仏寺自体の象徴的呼称としても用いられる。仏殿の前に立ち，本来はこの両脇から回廊が出て，仏殿または法堂（はつとう）の側面に取りついた。古代伽藍の中門に相当し，南大門にあたるものは総門と呼び小規模なものとする。山門は正面5間の重層門が本格で，側面を3間とした大規模なものもある。左右に鐘楼，鼓楼を接続するものであったが，これらを省略し，上層への登り口を覆って山廊としたものが多い。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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