Gates at the entrance to holy areas are common. Such gates at holy places have been used since the dawn of recorded history in Japan. The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, hid in a cave after fighting with one of her brothers thus leaving the world in darkness. When she was finally coaxed out through trickery of other gods,a torii gate was erected in front of the cave and festooned with white paper streamers called shide and woven ropes called shimenawa.