Overview
Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, located at the western foot of Mt. Inari, is the head shrine of all Inari shrines in Japan. The Main Shrine is a reconstruction from 1499 and is a designated Important Cultural Property. The Gonden is a shrine used to temporarily house a shrine's deity. It was built in 1635. It is smaller than the Main Shrine, but was made in the same five-bay shrine structure and nagare-zukuri architectural style, which is distinguished by its strikingly sloped roof. The Two-Storied Gate was rebuilt in 1589 under the patronage of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598), who united a large part of Japan in the sixteenth century. He patronized construction of the gate on behalf of his ailing mother, Omandokoro (1513–1592). The shrine’s other major structures include the Worship Hall, where portable shrines are displayed during the Inari Festival; the three-chambered Okumiya (inner sanctuary); and the Byakkosha, which enshrines the white foxes that serve as messengers of the Inari deity. The well-preserved conditions of these shrine buildings represent the popularity of Inari worship in the sixteenth to nineteenth century and their great historical and cultural value.
About the Cultural Property
Main Shrine(Honden)
The Main Shrine enshrines the deity known as Inari Okami and serves as the site of many ceremonies and prayers throughout the year. Located behind the inner sanctuary, the vermilion-painted, nagare-zukuri-style Main Shrine was built in 1499 and is designated an Important Cultural Property.
Inari Okami is a collective deity made up of the five deities enshrined in Fushimi Inari Taisha: Ukanomitama no Okami, Satahiko no Okami, Omiyanome no Okami, Tanaka no Okami, and Shi no Okami. Intricate carvings of flowers and white foxes adorn the building’s elaborate curved gable eaves and beam ends.
Two-Storied Gate(Romon)
This gate is the main entrance to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine and is a designated Important Cultural Property. Although a gate may have stood here as early as 1500, the current structure, with its two-story irimoya-zukuri (hip-and-gable) design and cypress-bark roof, is said to have been a later donation from ruling regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598). Hideyoshi built the current gate as an expression of gratitude after prayers for his mother’s recovery were fulfilled. An inscription remains at the shrine, recording his prayer and vow: “Please grant my mother three more years of life; if not, two years; if that is impossible, then at least thirty more days. Answer my prayers, oh gods, and I will make an offering of ten thousand koku* of rice.” The statues on either side of the gate are called zuishin—guardian deities of the deity Inari Okami. This is the oldest and largest two-storied gate among all shrines in Kyoto.
*Koku was the standard unit for measuring rice during Japan’s feudal era. One koku was roughly equivalent to 150 kilograms, the amount of rice a person would eat in a year. An offering of 10,000 koku demonstrated Hideyoshi's incredible wealth.
Worship Hall(Gehaiden)
Passing through the Two-Storied Gate, the first structure you see is the Worship Hall—a National Important Cultural Property—built in the irimoya-zukuri (hip-and-gable) style with a cypress-bark roof. The vermilion pillars and white walls create a sense of sacredness. This hall is host to various festivals and ceremonies, and it displays offerings from across Japan.
