Roger Antrobus, UK

The Yomeimon Gate - 1:50 scale

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The two-story Yomeimon Gate, a designated national treasure otherwise known as Sunlight Gate, exhibits an astonishing collection of 500 wood carvings. Once you pass through this symbolic gate of Toshogu, another famous animal ornamentation awaits; that of the Sleeping Cat curled at the top of Sakashita-mon Gate.

What makes this gate amazing and special is that the gate has over 500 sculptures on it. Included in these sculptures are some fantasy creatures and some other strange made up creatures. Something that makes an appearance on the gate more than once are three monkeys in the "see no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil" pose. Other examples of something you would not expect to see on a gate in Japan would be giraffes and elephants, which as you know are not native to Japan nor anywhere near Japan. Some of their made up creatures include horse-dragons and mysterious fish-type creatures. Altogether, there are 194 different imaginary animals on the gate. Also included on this gate are hundreds of statues from almost every Japanese legend you can think of. This gate encompasses almost all Japanese culture in one giant piece of art, something that was well worth the millions and millions of Japanese yen it took to make.