Fushimi-Ku
In the Fushimi Ward of Kyoto City, one will find the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, which has a long history and is the best place to see torii gates. Torii gates are traditionally found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, and symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The beautiful red color exemplifies vitality and protection against evil.
The history of this shrine can be traced to the year 711, and grew to importance in the Edo period during the 17th and 18th centuries, as a prospering economic nation. The Inari shrines became a place for Japanese merchants to communicate their prayers for successful businesses’ so; the Inari people donated funds for the construction of torii gates along the paths from the main shrine’s buildings to the top of Mount Inari.
Another symbol of the shrine are the numerous statues of foxes, which are regarded as the messengers of Inari, these statues often hold a key in their mouths. And, after hiking through forest to the top of the mountain, you are extremely aware of leaving the daily grind behind, allowing you to enjoy your natural surroundings.
Breathe deeply and enjoy,
Kathleen
Stylish Heath 
It’s interesting to learn about the shrine and it’s history. It’s fun to be able to visit Kyoto virtually via this blog.
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You are most kind and I am pleased you enjoyed the post. Please return anytime for a virtual holiday!!!
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I enjoyed looking around in your blog. Very creative, beautiful photos and friendly 🙂 I also found you have music, that is super rate, and I suppose it must be a special feature you added for a fee. Nice, I was listening to one song 02 wave the girl from ; the chords sounded like the beginning of a song called Number 1 by Randy Bachman of the Guess Who. If you check it out, you will hear the chords similarity. The shrine photos were well chosen. My wife loves to take photos, and she has a good eye as do you. Take care.
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Thank you for your most gracious thoughts and kind words. Stylish Heath is my creative outlet for photography, travel and art. I just finished listening to Randy Bachman’s song Number 1, and the opening chords are similar to the Leonard Brothers –Wave/ Girl from Ipanema. You have a good ear comparing the notes from those songs in that manner!!!
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Thank you Kathleen. We should share songs we like.
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What a wonderful idea, and a great suggestion…we can definitely share songs we like!!! And the music app was a widget that I used to upload songs from my computer, go to your Dashboard > Appearance > Widgets > Music Player.
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How about “I’ll Follow the sun” – The Beatles. I have always liked it.
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I wish I had the chance to go to the Fushimi Inari Shrine!
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Absolutely remarkable pics. Thanks for the tid bits of information. Love the shrine.
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