great south gate ［南大門］ ( nandaimon): A term for the front or main gate of a temple in Japan. Temples usually face south, so the great south gate stands in the middle front of the temple grounds facing south and is regarded as the most important of the outer gates of the grounds. The inner gate stands directly to its north and forms the entrance to the inner and main precinct where the main hall and the pagoda stand. In some of the earlier temples, the great south gate was smaller than the inner gate, but later it was made proportionately larger than the inner gate.