Torii
9.9
A group of Japanese artists who made woodblock prints of actors and theater scenes
- proper noun
- /ˈtɔːri/
:
Torii
- Many of the intricate woodblock prints in the gallery were produced by the Torii school during the Edo period.
Examples
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The famous artist from the Torii school created stunning woodblock prints of Kabuki actors.
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Visitors to the museum were fascinated by the exquisite illustrations of theater scenes made by the Torii school.
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Meiko is by the big Torii gate.
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Torii Hunter being congratulated in the dugout during a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners in Seattle.
Blog text (27)
Surface Forms
Torii main
Etymology
Torii comes from the Japanese word 鳥居, which is made of characters meaning 'bird' and 'to sit'. One popular story says these shrine gates were first places for sacred birds, and the Torii school is named after that family, so you can remember them as the artists who made bold, gateway-style pictures for kabuki theatre.
