FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA
During Hatsumode, a human crowd goes to the beautiful sanctuary of Kyoto in the first days of the year to take their vows.
This shrine is one of the epinal images of Japan and Kyoto. Several movie scenes have immortalized the thousands of red torii that wind along the mountain. Each year, no less than 2.7 million tourists and locals come to worship here, making it the 4th most visited shrine in Japan. At dusk, the magic of the place is even stronger. The visit can take a day because there is so much to see outside the torii alley: the site itself has an area of more than 870,000 m2.
It is one of the oldest shrines in Kyoto built by the Korean Hata family in the 8th century. It protects the deities of agriculture and especially those related to rice and sake. It is the main shrine of countless sub-shrines (matsuji) scattered all over Japan and dedicated to the god Inari, the god of rice. As foxes are the messengers of the god, they can be seen all over the site.
First built in 711 on Inariyama Hill, it was moved to Fushimi at the request of Kūkai in 816. The present shrine dates from 1499.
Throughout the
tour, once you enter the large corridor formed by the nearly 30,000 torii, you will access a multitude of other small shrines nestled in the mountain. The charm certainly comes from the contrast between the vermilion red color of the torii (obtained from the cinnabar used to preserve the wood) and the green of the abundant nature.
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