Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/japan

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Fushimi Inari-taisha

Shinto shrine near Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-taisha
Summary

Shinto shrine near Kyoto, Japan

FieldValue
nameFushimi Inari-taisha
native_name伏見稲荷大社
native_name_langja
imageFile:Torii path with lantern at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan.jpg
captionTorii path with a hanging lantern at Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine
map_typeJapan Kyoto#Japan
coordinates
religious_affiliationShinto
typeInari shrine
deityUka-no-Mitama-no-Ōkami, et al. as Inari Ōkami
established711
locationFushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
website
architecture_styleKasuga-zukuri

Fushimi Inari-taisha is the head shrine of the kami Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain, also named Inari, which is 233 m above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 km and take approximately 2 hours to walk up. It is unclear whether the mountain's name, Inariyama, or the shrine's name came first.

The shrine was formally founded in 711 CE by the Hata clan, an influential immigrant group from the Korean Peninsula. Inari was originally and remains primarily the kami of rice and agriculture, but merchants also worship Inari as the patron of business. Each of Fushimi Inari-taisha's roughly 10,000 torii were donated by a Japanese business, and approximately 800 of these are set in a row to form the Senbon Torii, creating the impression of a tunnel. The shrine is said to have ten thousand such gates in total that designate the entrance to the holy domain of kami and protect it against wicked forces.

Owing to the popularity of Inari's division and re-enshrinement, this shrine is said to have as many as 32,000 sub-shrines (分社 bunsha) throughout Japan.

History

haiden]]''

The shrine's foundation is traditionally dated to 711 CE (the Wadō era), though its religious significance is deeply rooted in the migration of the Hata clan (秦氏, Hata-uji). The Hata were a prominent group of toraijin (immigrants from the Korean Peninsula) who settled in the Yamashiro Province during the Kofun period. Historical and genealogical records, such as the Shinsen Shōjiroku, suggest the clan migrated from the Korean kingdom of Silla or Paekche, bringing advanced continental technologies in irrigation, sericulture, and sake brewing to Japan.

According to the Yamashiro-no-kuni Fudoki, the shrine was established by Hata no Irogu (秦伊呂具). Legend states that Irogu, a wealthy landowner, shot an arrow at a mochi, which then transformed into a white bird and flew to the peak of Mount Inari; rice grew where the bird landed, leading Irogu to enshrine the deity there. The Hata clan’s technical expertise in agriculture and their close ties to the Imperial Court allowed the Inari deity to transition from a private clan tutelary (ujigami) to a major national protector of the harvest and the state.

The shrine gained imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines, including the Inari Shrine.

From 1871 through 1946, Fushimi Inari-taisha was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha, meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.

Unlike most Shinto shrines, Fushimi Inari-taisha, in keeping with typical Inari shrines, has an open view of the main object of worship (a mirror).

A drawing in Kiyoshi Nozaki's Kitsune: Japan's Fox of Mystery, Romance and Humor in 1786 depicting the shrine says that its two-story entry gate was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The shrine draws several million worshipers over the Japanese New Year, 2.69 million for 3 days in 2006 reported by the police, the most in western Japan.

Structures

The earliest structures were built in 711 on the Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto, but the shrine was re-located in 816 on the request of the monk Kūkai. The main shrine structure was built in 1499. At the bottom of the hill are the main gate and the main shrine. Behind them, in the middle of the mountain, the inner shrine is reachable by a path lined with thousands of torii. On the way to the top of the mountain are tens of thousands of rock altars (otsuka お塚) for private worship. These rock altars are personalised Inari that have been set up there by citizens. Most of them have individual names for Inari engraved on them.

Senbon Torii

The highlight of the shrine is the rows of torii gates, known as Senbon torii (千本鳥居), "thousand torii". The custom to donate a torii began spreading from the Edo period (1603–1868) to have a wish come true or in gratitude for a wish that came true, with successive gates being added up to the present day by donors out of gratitude. Along the main path there are around 800 torii gates.

Access and environs

(video) Walking up part of the torii path.

The shrine is just outside Inari Station on the Nara Line of the West Japan Railway Company (JR), a five-minute ride from Kyoto Station. It is a short walk from Fushimi-Inari Station on the Main Line of the Keihan Electric Railway.

The shrine is open 24 hours with the approach to the shrine and the Honden itself illuminated all night. There is no entrance fee.

In the approach to the shrine are a number of sweet shops selling , a form of fortune cookie dating at least to the 19th century, and which are believed by some to be the origin of the American fortune cookie.

References

Bibliography

  • Breen, John and Mark Teeuwen. (2000). Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
  • Keller, Matthew Paul (2022): The Appeal of the Fox: The Cult of Inari and Premodern Japan. University of Southern California.
  • Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (1998). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). Studies in Shinto and Shrines. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 399449
  • Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
  • Smyers, Karen A. (1997). Inari pilgrimage: Following one’s path on the mountain, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 24 (3–4), 427–452
  • Smyers, Karen A. (1996): "My Own Inari": Personalization of the Deity in Inari Worship. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 23 (1-2): 85-116.
  • Cali, Joseph, and John Dougill. Shinto shrines: a guide to the sacred sites of Japan's ancient religion. University of Hawaii Press, 2012.

References

  1. link
  2. Keller (2022): 2.
  3. Keller (2022): 1.
  4. "伏見稲荷大社にある千本鳥居の由来と数を知りたい".
  5. Motegi, Sadazumi. "Shamei Bunpu (Shrine Names and Distributions)". Encyclopedia of Shinto.
  6. E.P.. (2 October 2020). "Fushimi Inari Taisha".
  7. "「伊奈利社創祀前史」 伏見稲荷大社".
  8. Breen, John ''et al.'' (2000). [https://books.google.com/books?id=MADlfH002mAC&q=oharano ''Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami,'' pp. 74–75.]
  9. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' pp. 116–117.
  10. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 124.
  11. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric ''et al.'' (1998). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&dq=1752+revolt++and+japon&pg=PA123 ''Japan encyclopedia,'' p. 224.]
  12. Smyers (1996): 93-94.
  13. [http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html Fushimi Inari Shrine], How to get there
  14. [[Jennifer 8. Lee. Lee, Jennifer 8]]. (January 16, 2008). "[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/dining/16fort.html Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie]" ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
    1. Lee, Jennifer. (January 16, 2008). "Fortune Cookies are really from Japan.". [[The Fortune Cookie Chronicles]] official website.
  16. Ono, Gary. (2007-10-31). "Japanese American Fortune Cookie: A Taste of Fame or Fortune – Part II".
  17. . ["Kokaji (pamphlet)"](http://www.noh-kyogen.com/story/english/Kokaji.pdf). *noh-kyogen.com*.
  18. "Iwata Asks - Nintendo 3DS - Page 3".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

important-cultural-properties-of-japan inari-shrines shinto-shrines-in-kyoto fushimi-ku,-kyoto kanpei-taisha former-beppyo-shrines myōjin-taisha twenty-two-shrines taisha independent-shrines kasuga-zukuri
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Fushimi Inari-taisha — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report