Style for Wanderlust

View Original

Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine - Kyoto

Fushimi Inari-taisha (伏見稲荷大社) in Kyoto is the head shrine of kami Inari, the god of rice and agricolture. The shrine is at the bottom of a mountain named Inari (233 metres above sea level), and has trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kilometres (2.5 mi). A visit takes about 2 hours if you want to reach the top.

Inari is also the patron of business. In Fushimi Inari-taisha there are about a thousand torri (gates) and each one was donated by a Japanese business.

Foxes are regarded as messengers and there are many statues of foxes in Inari shrines most showing a key (for the rice granary) in their mouths.