Kyoto - Day Three

I decided to stay in Kyoto for just one more day, so that I could get back to Tokyo to allow for more time to focus on painting and drawing.  I booked my return ticket for the afternoon to allow one more day to visit some sights.  I went to the Fushimi-Inari Taisha, because of its visual presence in some of my guidebooks.  Because I ended up enjoying this sight so much and the length of time I spent there, it was all I could fit in my day before catching the train back to Tokyo.  The above picture is the entryway to the shrine.

This shrine has an interesting, albeit strange backstory, that I will try to paraphrase here:  

It was originally dedicated to the gods of rice and sake by the Hata family in the 8th Century.  As the role of agriculture diminished, deities were enrolled to ensure prosperity in business.  

The entire complex consists of five shrines sprawled across wooded slopes of Inari-yama.  A pathway wanders nearly 3 miles up a mountain lined with hundreds of red torii (see the following pictures).  There are also dozens of foxes, which is considered the messenger of Inari, the god of cereal grains.  The Japanese traditionally view the fox as sacred and somewhat mysterious, capable of 'possessing' humans- the favored point of entry is through the fingernails.  The key often seen in the mouth of the fox is for the rice granary.

Some of the many rows of torii winding up the mountainside.  Absolutely beautiful presence against all of the green of the forest surrounding the shrine.  These torii can actually still be bought today by a person successful at business, who often donates the torii in gratitude.

I was fortunate enough to see one being installed during my visit.  Pretty basic way of being put together, but it looks heavy.

A row of torii alongside a waterfall, made it not only visually compelling, but also the sound created more of an interesting feeling during the long walk.

Another fox, a little more close-up than the last one.  They also wear these strange red bibs for some reason.

The rest of the following pictures are all torii leading up the mountain side.  The entire walk took about two hours, but was a very rewarding experience.

I believe the kanji characters on the side of each torii details who bought it and the date it was installed.