How to build Japanese Torii Shrine in Minecraft

A peaceful little Shinto shrine. A vermilion torii gate with a black, upturned top beam stands in a shallow pond like the famous floating gate of Itsukushima. A stone path lined with lanterns leads up to a white-and-red shrine with a curved dark roof, a straw rope over the door, a stone wash basin and a pink cherry blossom tree.

Open the interactive 3D plan above to build it one layer at a time: every layer has a numbered top-down plan, a block list and full-screen step-by-step instructions you can tick off as you go. You can also download it for Litematica, WorldEdit or Minecraft Bedrock, or view it in your room in AR.

Materials list

BlockAmountStacks
Sand2503 stacks + 58
Water2253 stacks + 33
Gravel2233 stacks + 31
Cherry Leaves1973 stacks + 5
Stone Bricks1091 stack + 45
Red Concrete1051 stack + 41
Grass Block811 stack + 17
Dark Oak Stairs721 stack + 8
Dark Oak Slab50
White Concrete41
Black Concrete24
Smooth Stone23
Spruce Planks19
Pink Carpet10
Cherry Log9
Dark Oak Planks6
Hay Bale5
Lantern5
Spruce Slab5
Dark Oak Fence4
Stone Brick Slab4
Stone Brick Wall4
Moss Block3
Stone Brick Stairs3
Black Carpet2
Poppy2
Block of Gold1
Cornflower1
Dandelion1
Oak Fence1

Building tips

  1. Build the torii first: two red pillars 9 tall, a red beam across at layer 7, then the top beam. The black top beam is one block wider on each side, and its tips step up a block to give the classic upturned ends.
  2. Dig the pond only one block deep and line it with sand. Shallow water is easy to fill and it still reflects the gate.
  3. The curved roof is just rings of stairs. Put the lowest two rings at the same height and the higher ones one block up each time. That flat-then-steep shape makes the curve.
  4. Cherry leaves and cherry logs give an instant blossom tree. Make the canopy wide and flat rather than tall.
  5. Stone lanterns are a wall block, a lantern and a slab on top. At Night they light the path to the shrine.

Step-by-step: all 13 layers

  1. Layer 1 Sand ×230
  2. Layer 2 Water ×224, Gravel ×223, Grass Block ×81, Sand ×20, Smooth Stone ×15, Black Concrete ×6, Moss Block ×3, Stone Bricks ×3
  3. Layer 3 Stone Bricks ×106, Pink Carpet ×10, Smooth Stone ×8, Red Concrete ×6, Stone Brick Stairs ×3, Cherry Log ×2, Poppy ×2, Cornflower ×1, Dandelion ×1, Water ×1
  4. Layer 4 Spruce Planks ×19, Red Concrete ×16, White Concrete ×11, Spruce Slab ×5, Stone Brick Wall ×4, Cherry Log ×2, Dark Oak Planks ×1, Oak Fence ×1
  5. Layer 5 Red Concrete ×16, White Concrete ×10, Cherry Leaves ×7, Lantern ×4, Cherry Log ×2, Block of Gold ×1
  6. Layer 6 Cherry Leaves ×29, Red Concrete ×20, White Concrete ×11, Stone Brick Slab ×4, Cherry Log ×2, Lantern ×1
  7. Layer 7 Cherry Leaves ×54, Red Concrete ×17, White Concrete ×9, Hay Bale ×5, Cherry Log ×1
  8. Layer 8 Cherry Leaves ×57, Dark Oak Slab ×39, Dark Oak Stairs ×32, Red Concrete ×2
  9. Layer 9 Cherry Leaves ×40, Dark Oak Stairs ×24, Red Concrete ×13, Dark Oak Slab ×3
  10. Layer 10 Dark Oak Stairs ×16, Cherry Leaves ×10, Dark Oak Planks ×5, Red Concrete ×2, Black Concrete ×1
  11. Layer 11 Red Concrete ×13, Dark Oak Slab ×5, Dark Oak Fence ×2
  12. Layer 12 Black Concrete ×15, Dark Oak Slab ×3, Dark Oak Fence ×2
  13. Layer 13 Black Carpet ×2, Black Concrete ×2

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