Kyoto Japan Winter 2014', Fushimi Inari Shrine, 10,000 Torii tunnel
Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which rises to a height of 233m/725’ above sea level. The shrine’s complex includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines, spanning over 4 kilometers, taking approximately 2 hours to reach the very top.
Since early Japan, the guardian spirit or god Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business or business person.
The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period in Japan. In 965CE, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines including the Inari Shrine.
The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai. The main shrine structure was built in 1499. At the bottom of the hill are the main gate (楼門, rōmon, "tower gate") and the main shrine (御本殿, go-honden). Behind them, up to the middle of the mountain, the inner shrine (奥宮, okumiya) is reachable by a path lined with literally thousands of torii.
Foxes (kitsune), regarded as messengers, are often found in Inari shrines. They often hold a granary key in their mouths, a nod to the other important fole for Inari, that of the protector of rice.
Interestingly, in the approach to the shrine are a number of sweet shops selling tsujiura senbei (辻占煎餅), a form of fortune cookie dating at least to the 19th century, and which are believed by some to be the origin of the Chinese-American fortune cookie.
Kyoto Japan Winter 2014', Fushimi Inari Shrine, 10,000 Torii tunnel
Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which rises to a height of 233m/725’ above sea level. The shrine’s complex includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines, spanning over 4 kilometers, taking approximately 2 hours to reach the very top.
Since early Japan, the guardian spirit or god Inari was seen as the patron of business, and merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshipped Inari. Each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha is donated by a Japanese business or business person.
The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period in Japan. In 965CE, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines including the Inari Shrine.
The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai. The main shrine structure was built in 1499. At the bottom of the hill are the main gate (楼門, rōmon, "tower gate") and the main shrine (御本殿, go-honden). Behind them, up to the middle of the mountain, the inner shrine (奥宮, okumiya) is reachable by a path lined with literally thousands of torii.
Foxes (kitsune), regarded as messengers, are often found in Inari shrines. They often hold a granary key in their mouths, a nod to the other important fole for Inari, that of the protector of rice.
Interestingly, in the approach to the shrine are a number of sweet shops selling tsujiura senbei (辻占煎餅), a form of fortune cookie dating at least to the 19th century, and which are believed by some to be the origin of the Chinese-American fortune cookie.