Ten Thousand Gates - Part 1

Fushimi Inari Shrine - Part 1
Kyoto, Japan
October 8, 2014


Popularized by the 2005 film, "Memoirs of a Geisha," the Fushimi Inari Shrine is alluring with its thousands of red (more like orange) gates. A definite must-see in Kyoto.

Walking under the torii gates of Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto

Remember that movie scene where the lead character Chiyo dramatically runs through these vermilion gates?

Here's the movie poster just to refresh your memory

The Romon Gate, a towering torii, marks the main entrance to this Shinto shrine. Majestically standing behind it is the premier building, Honden.

The Romon Gate fronting Honden, the main building.

Dating as far back as 711 AD, this shrine is dedicated to Inari or the Shinto god of rice and prosperity.  Rice was the primary source of living and hence, considered wealth. Merchants and businessmen come here seeking blessings for success in business.

I had no idea that about 40,000 shrines throughout Japan (making up the majority) are dedicated to Inari. The Fushimi Inari Taisha is the oldest, largest, and most revered of all Inari shrines.

Washing my hands, observing proper etiquette before entering the shrine

Honden, the shrine's main building, is flanked by two bronze fox statues

Throughout the grounds of this sacred place are also bronze or stone fox statues. The fox or kitsune is known to be the messenger of Inari. Typically, the fox holds a key in its mouth -- thought to be the key to the rice granary. Learn more here.

The fox or kitsune, wearing a red bib and holding a key in its mouth

A samurai, another "protector" found at the main building's entrance.

I've read that many visitors come here to explore the trails climbing through the wooded areas of Mount Inari. But we found so many other interesting sights before even starting on the famous trails. These include interesting auxiliary buildings, pristine gardens, and large stone lanterns.

One of the auxiliary buildings inside

Rituals are probably held here

A very pristine garden inside the shrine grounds

A groundskeeper rakes the area in front of a wall display of mini torii gates

There is a worship area with altars and a wall covered with ema (wooden plaques inscribed with hopes and wishes) and colorful garlands of paper crane. It is believed that folding a thousand origami cranes would grant a cure to any illness. Every little thing here gave me a deeper insight into the Japanese beliefs and culture.

Many stop here to worship and make their special wishes.

A wall covered in ema or wooden wish plaques and garlands of colorful paper cranes

Foxes at the foot of the steps leading to the trails

Some torii gates are painted white and pink

A stone statue of two foxes carrying a ring. For good fortune, throw a pebble through the ring.

Walking under a seemingly endless canopy of vermilion gates

We followed the tourists to the Senbon Torii where the path splits into two parallel gateways. This is where the mountain trail begins. From there, the sites were even more spellbinding.

Senbon Torii, where the passage splits into two parallel gateways

A stone lantern by the torii gates

The torii gates are absolutely beautiful under the afternoon sun

The trails were canopied with countless vermilion gates. As we climbed higher up the mountain, we found shrines upon shrines with more altars, fox statues, and multiple torii gates of varied sizes.

More torii gates along the trails inside Fushimi Inari Shrine

The tops of aligned torii gates

A stone altar adorned with different sizes of torii gates

Shrines upon shrines with torii gates of different sizes

Just when I thought we were making headway, we came across a billboard showing that we were still very far from reaching the end of the trail. Ugh! It was hot and humid -- definitely not the most comfortable conditions for an uphill hike. So we decided to turn around and walk back. But I vowed someday I'd return and complete the trek. From what I've read,  if you reach halfway to the top, you can get a nice bird's eye view of the city of Kyoto.


Continued on the next post, Ten Thousand Gates - Part 2.


This story is part travel adventure series on Japan. To read previous blogpost, see Hey, It's Joseph!