Visit Japan Web Fushimi Inari Shrine
Visit Japan Web invites you to explore Fushimi Inari Shrine, a significant Shinto shrine located in southern Kyoto. Renowned for its numerous vermilion torii gates, which form a network of trails behind the main buildings, the shrine’s paths lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari. Standing at 233 meters, Mount Inari is part of the shrine grounds.
Fushimi Inari holds great importance as one of thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are messengers of Inari. As a result, numerous fox statues were built throughout the shrine grounds. With ancient origins predating the relocation of the capital to Kyoto in 794, it holds a rich historical significance.
The primary reason most foreign visitors come to Fushimi Inari Shrine is to explore the mountain trails. There are also attractive shrine buildings. At the shrine’s entrance stands the Romon Gate, donated in 1589 by the famous leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Behind the gate also stands the shrine’s main hall (honden), where all visitors are encouraged to show respect to the resident deity by making a small offering.
At the very back of the shrine’s main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate-covered hiking trail, which starts with two dense, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii (thousands of torii gates). The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, with the donator’s name as well as date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate. The donation amount starts around 400,000 yen for a smaller gate. It increases to over one million yen for a large gate.
