Fushimi Inari-taisha is traditionally dated to 711, when the Hata clan built the earliest structures on Inariyama hill. The shrine was relocated in 816 at the request of the monk Kukai. The main shrine structure dates from 1499, and the article gives its style as Kasuga-zukuri.
The shrine has roughly 10,000 torii, each donated by a Japanese business, and about 800 of them form the Senbon Torii, a row that creates the impression of a tunnel. Donations of the Senbon Torii began to spread in the Edo period. A 1786 drawing credits Toyotomi Hideyoshi with the two-story rōmon, or main gate, though only one source says so.
Mountain trails run about 2.5 miles (4 km) and take roughly two hours to walk, to the peak of Mount Inari at 764 feet (233 m). Tens of thousands of rock altars line the route. The shrine is open 24 hours and charges no entrance fee.
Comments