Senbon Torii, Fushimi Inari, Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan.
As if walking through a row of historic houses, or through the bamboo forest or for that matter the kimono forest was not inspiration enough to be in Kyoto, hiking the trail through these 10,000 toris, called Senbon Torii, would certainly leave you in complete awe! The trail that starts at the bottom of Fushimi Inari Shrine and continues to the top of Mt. Inari-san is lined with thousands of toris. Pilgrims have been travelling this path from the 6th century AD to get blessings from Mt. Inari-san for their own health or wealth or for the wellbeing of their children, but most importantly Inari is the patron saint of the rice farmers of Fushimi. Fushimi and the surrounding area were blessed with some of the most fertile rice fields around. The kind of rice they grew was also the best-kept secret ingredient of the local sake. Thus, the rich economy of this region was dependent on the seasonal fortunes of its paddy fields and the sake breweries. Every year, the rice farmers and brewers would pray and express their gratitude to Inari (Oh-kami deity) for a bountiful season and abundant crops. In return for successful crops, the pilgrims would offer a vermillion tori to be installed on the trail.
I thought of my own village in India, and the surrounding rice fields. The offerings and the festivals we had around our villages were no different. Naturally I took an immediate interest in this shrine and found myself returning to this temple three times during my short stay in Kyoto. I even bought a small tori lucky charm for my camera bag to remind me of Inari, the St Patron Kami of the rice farmers!