EN#2 | Fushimi Inari: Why Are There So Many Red Gates? (Kyoto)

A tunnel of bright red gates winds up the mountain. It's called "Senbon Torii," or "a thousand gates."

Who built them all, and why? In this episode, we travel through three moments in history to solve the mystery: the shrine's founding in 711, a gate donated by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the merchants of the Edo period.

▼ In this episode

- Where the name "Inari" comes from, and why this is the head shrine of about 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan

- Hideyoshi's promise of 10,000 koku of rice, and the proof found nearly 400 years later

- Who donated the thousand gates, and why

- What the fox statues hold in their mouths

- Tips for your visit: the "heavy or light stone" and how to hike the mountain

▼ Chapters

00:00 Opening

01:49 711: Where every Inari shrine began

03:45 1589: Hideyoshi's gate

07:09 The secret of the gates

08:29 The foxes and Tips for your visit

09:54 Ending

▼ Next episode

EN#3 | Kiyomizu-dera: Why Build a Stage on a Cliff? (Kyoto)

▼ Host

Taiki Arai | An English coach based in Fukui, Japan, currently studying to become a licensed tour guide.

▼Full transcript

https://listen.style/p/mangekyo/l17lsray

▼ Tour guide requests & messages

Planning a trip to Kyoto or Osaka? Want me to show you around, or have a place you'd like me to cover? Get in touch here:https://forms.gle/j9wwu5g1pWxiTMxF7