Wooden prayer cards and paper cranes for sale at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

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The Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto shrine sits at the bottom of Inari mountain (Inari San). The origins of the shrine date back 711, but the current structures date to 1499. The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the god of rice, who has a fox (kitsune) as a messenger, explaining the numerous fox statues seen around the grounds of the shrine. It is famous for the thousands of vermilion torii gates (Senbon Torii), donated by companies and individuals, that climb the mountain to the top shine (kamisha) at the peak (Ichi no mine) of the mountain. Although this shrine is one of the finest in Kyoto it is not yet on the list of 17 UNESCO Heritage Sites in Japan. View of ema and strings of paper cranes for sale at the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shinto shrine, Kyoto, Japan. Ema are wooden plaques on which Shinto worshipers write their prayers or wishes, and the strings of 1000 origami paper cranes (senbazuru) are given for eternal good luck, long life and world peace.

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Size: 5000px × 3333px
Location: Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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