This torii gate standing in the sea 200 m away from the oratory of Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima-cho, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Pref. is the tallest and largest wooden torii gate in Japan. It has existed since 1168, but the current gate is the eighth generation. The construction of the present gate started on Oct. 17, 1974 and completed in July, 1875. The gate is 16 m in a total height; the pillars are 13.4 m tall, 9.9 m in circumference; the ridge beam is 23.3 m long. It is built of camphor wood specially brought from Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu and Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku. It is built in a four-legged style to provide additional stability. It is said that the lettering on the original plaques were calligraphed by Ono no Tofu and the priest Kukai. However it was lost some time ago. The present plaques were written by His Imperial Highness Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. The shrine names in different Chinese characters are written on respective plaques; the one facing the offing and the other facing the shrine. The writing date and the name of the caligrapher are written on the back of the both plaques.