Witter Bynner

Through a Gateway in Japan (1919)

A torii stood, three miles above the bay,
A gate of sacred ground,
And when I wondered through a little way,
I paused and found

No temple-steps, no lanterns and no shrine,
Only divinity—
The solitary presence of pine
Facing the sea.

For an overview of Bynner’s Japanese interests see Witter Bynner and Japan in the Bibliography, and for a note about Bynner’s titles in print, see In the House of Lafcadio Hearn. ‘Through and Gateway’ (BE2) appeared in the Nation (New York) in July 1919, and was reprinted in A Canticle of Pan (BE3).