The Messenger

The fox, known as "kitsune", is believed to be the messenger of Inari, the God of rice. There are quite a number of these foxes throughout the Shrine complex. Often seen in pairs, they guard most of the shrine entrances.

Vermilion Torii

One of the attractions of the Fushimi Inari Shrine is the endless ( or so it seems) pathway with thousands of Torri gates.  Inari,  ( the God of rice) now governs the modern business in success and prosperity, so each one of these thousands of Torri gates has been donated and inscribed by  a business who is thankful. Apparently the pathway goes on for miles, with over 10,000 of these gates, and takes a few hours to walk the distance. We were at the end of a very long day so I didn't walk too far.

Another Shrine Building

Yes, still another shrine building in the grounds of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. Showing off again those beautiful decorations on the line of the roof. If we look closely we can just see the art work on the doors.

Shrine Decoration Pt 4

Another panel of decoration on the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This is very similar to the last one, just shorter and wider. Beautiful!

Shrine Decoration Pt 3

Another decorative panel on a railing of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This one is similar to the one I showed you a few days back, just narrower and mirrored.

Shrine Decoration Pt 2

Another panel from the Fushimi Inari Shrine. This one was at the base of a post. Inspiration plus!

Shrine Decoration

The gateway into the Fushimi Inari Shrine is full of decoration and inspiration. From a distance it appears to be gold, but I would say that is not the case. My guess would be stamped  brass, but brass would need an awful lot of polishing, especially out in the weather! They are metal of some kind, then carved, moulded, etched, stamped or whatever into these beautiful panels. The panels have then been nailed to the timber structure. I did wonder if the panel had been painted, but I think paint would not give the fine detail that we see here. If we look closely, we can see the nails, six of them. The one at the top and three at the bottom are  different to the two at the sides. I wonder if there is a reason for this? This panel was actually sideways, decorating a railing, so we need to imagine it turned at 90 deg anti clockwise.

The panel itself is still beautiful, and full of inspiration to me as a stitcher.

Scallops, Symbols, Flowers and Leaves

Ah........ here it is again. The beautiful roof decorations of the traditional Japanese buildings. This building would have been somewhere within the grounds of the Fushimi Inari Shrine, but which one I am not sure. The pattern created by simply mirroring the scallop, the dropping it down half a pattern, then again mirroring the result. Simply stunning! I am sure I can use that somewhere in my stitching. Then there is the Japanese symbol of family at the end of each ridge in the roof. Not to mention the laves and the flowers. All so beautiful!

Gold Roof Decoration

This is the roof line of one of the buildings at the Fushimi Inari Shrine. I am not sure if it is real gold, but there was a large amount of it. There were embossed overlays, embossed with flowers and vines, decorating the gable. The scroll decoration at the top was edged with it, and the ends of each of those roof beams were also decorated with it. Whatever it was, it certainly added to the building.

More Roof Decorations

Just one of the many decorations on the buildings in the Fushimi Inari Shrine complex. This was on one of the smaller buildings.  I am sure I can use this as inspiration in my design work somewhere. Scallops in a row for a border, flowers in each of the scallops............mmmmmm, I could go on.......

A Roof Line

The one thing that I really enjoyed looking at is the roof lines on the Japanese buildings, especially the traditional ones. They are so different to anything that we have here at home. This it the roof of one of the buildings in the grounds of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. If you look closely, scrolls can bee seen decorating the roof.

Also, in the lower left corner of the pic you will see the prayer cards that  spoke of yesterday displayed on the wall.

A Torii Gate

Throughout the complex of the Fushimi Inari Shrine there are many buildings, structures & Torii gates. This is the torii gate across the pathway to one of the smaller shrines of the complex.  Not clear in this photo are the prayer cards and flags that are left at the shrine. Through the gate and to the right of the pathway they are displayed on the wall, the cards on the top and the flags underneath. When I first saw the flags, I thought they were scarves hanging for sale. I was soon corrected by our guide.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

The Fushimi Inari Shrine is in Southern Kyoto & was the last stop in our taxi tour for the day. It is a Shinto Shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice. The shrine was full of inspiration for me a an embroiderer, and apparently there were lots of trails behind this main building to explore. I might add here that I did not explore very far. This stop was at the end of a very long day, and only the second day that we had spent in Japan.