Offerings of wooden torii gates at the Ichi no mine kamisha, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
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. At the kamisha the the top of Inari Mountain, there are thousands more small torii gates that have been carried up the mountain as offerings. In this image you see a few of these small gates leaning against an inscribed stone, with a background of a magnificent Japanese maple in full color. The first mention of the use of a torii gate to mark the entrance to a sacred space goes back to 922 AD.
Size: 5000px × 3333px
Location: Ichi no mine kamisha, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shinto Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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