Fushimi Inari Taisha (伏見稲荷大社) is the head shrine of Inari. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines.
Because Inari is the god of business, each of the Torii is donated by a Japanese business.
Merchants and manufacturers worship Inari for wealth. Donated torii lining footpaths are part of the scenic view.
This popular shrine is said to have as many as 40,000 sub-shrines throughout Japan.
The fox is said to be the messenger and protector of the shrine. Throughout the grounds, statues of foxes can be found.
I had visited Fushimi Inari Shrine twice last year. It is only two trains away from our house and very accessible. Many people are familiar with this shrine because of the movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha" where she runs through the many torii gates. The grounds themselves stretch over an entire mountainside, making for a wonderful day of leisurely hiking and photography. I was eager to take Ray for his first visit.
The Shinto shrine is dedicated to many different gods and people hike up the mountain in hopes of finding favor with the gods. As mentioned above, this shrine is primarily dedicated to the god of wealth and prosperity, so there are many people who visit after the New Year. In the photo below, you can see two women dressed in traditional kimono, making the hike up.
1 comment:
Sarah, the photos of these gates immediately brings the image to mind of the small girl running through them in "Memoirs", as you had said. What an amazing place.
Post a Comment