~The evening set
Silence permeates
And the foxes still
Guarding the sacred ground~
Located in southern Kyoto, this shrine is famous for its thousands vermillion torii (shrine’s gate). It is dedicated to Inari (Uka no Mitama no Kami), Shinto God of Rice. It is also known as patron of business, merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshiped Inari.
I arrived to this shrine late at afternoon but there is still lots of visitors because it opens 24 hours daily. You can visit this place early in the morning if you want to catch that picture perfect gate before the visitor rush.
Fox is regarded as the messenger of God, so you will also find lots of fox statues here. There is always two statues guarding the entrance of each batch of torii with different expression.
There is a lot of sub shrines the further you go up. And less visitor as well. Most of them return because the hike uphill is pretty exhausting. So the further you go up, the more you can enjoy the serene atmosphere here.
Make a wish on ema (wooden plate for prayer) and decorate them. There was lots and lots of these creative ema. It was very amusing how people can come up with unique idea for their ema. I can only guessed Dragon Ball, One Piece and Hetalia.
The easiest way to get to this shrine is to take JR Nara line. Just stop at Inari station and the shrine is just outside.
The shrine is used as a setting for the anime “Inari Konkon Koi Iroha” and here is the depiction of Uka no Mitama no Kami. It was placed right before the entrance 🙂 I love how Japanese can use anime culture to promotes things.
I would love to come back to this shrine at autumn or winter. Red leaves or sparkling snow between the torii would look fabulous.
Journey to the Unknown 