Omote-mon, the main gateway, is a very good example of religious syncretism (on the one hand, the ni-oh guardians, protectors of the Buddhist pantheon; on the other hand, two Chinese lions, marking the entrance to the Shinto sanctuary). In the first courtyard on the right is the Three Sacred Storehouses (Sanjinko), used to store everything needed for the annual yabusame procession. On the Kamijinko (the highest of the three storehouses), there are amazing elephant carvings. On the left, the Shinkyusha (sacred stable) houses a white horse reserved for the shogun's kami. The stable is decorated with the relief depicting the sansaru (three monkeys) explaining that our life cycle will be spared by evil if we behave as they do: "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil".