Zen Temple Kyoto ???

Mimurotoji

Saihōji Kokedera

鈴虫寺のお守り An Omamori from Suzumushi Temple

???のお守り An Omamori from ???

大酒神社の写真 Photos from ??sake Shrine

伏見稲荷神社のお守り A Charm from Fushimi Inari Shrine

The bustling entrance to Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Visitors come from all over to pray for luck in business, an adaptation from the traditional prayers for luck with rice and harvest. 

Fushimi Inari Shrine is something that should be on every person's travel itinerary when they go to Kyoto. It's appeared in many televisions series and films (Memoirs of a Geisha), and is famous for its several thousand tori, or red Shinto gates.

Fushimi Inari is the headquarters of shrines dedicated to grain. You may have noticed other posts with "inari" in the title, such as Sasuke Inari Shrine. Fushimi Inari Shrine sprawls over a mountain south of Kyoto city. It's a short ride from Kyoto Station, and if you have the JR Rail Pass, the journey will be free. I climbed to the top of the mountain where the most sacred part of the complex is, but many people just go to a path at the beginning of the shrine. The path has many red tori, one right next to each other, creating a tunnel effect.

I think's it's worth it to get to the top of Fushimi Inari, however. You have the opportunity to appreciate the natural beauty of a mostly undisturbed forest and you can glimpse one of the most mysterious parts of Kyoto. There's waterfalls, ponds, gravestones... When I walked up it, it was lightly raining and the entire forest was filled with mist.

The foxes are messengers of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Inari shrines are covered in fox statues that act as guardians.

As for charms, people come to Fushimi Inari to pray for success in business, and many shrines reflect that. The red tori gates that fill the site are dedicated to companies that have purchased them. The massive tori gates are expensive. Fortunately, most can afford a simple fox omamori, like the one below:

Torii tunnels cover the mountain Fushimi Inari occupies. 

One of the many regal fox statues

Visitors buy fox-themed omamori

Many visitors choose to pray before starting their climb through the red tori gates by ringing the bells, clapping their hands, and making small monetary offerings. 

平安神官のキーリング A Keychain from Heian Shrine

You might think I'm cheating a little with this one. While technically not a omamori, this key chain DID come from the grounds of Heian shrine. When I visited there, I balked a little bit at the omamori prices. I don't mind paying extra for charms that are unique, and I like the metal charms more than the traditional bags, but Heian's selection has made me frown every time I've gone. This keychain came from a machine where you could stamp your name and the date on the other side.

Despite what people think, Heian shrine was not actually built during the Heian period, but in 1895 to commemorate Kyoto's anniversary. The shrine is a smaller replica of the original Kyoto palace, and a burst of color... oranges and bright greens.

地主神社のお守り A Bell from Jishu Shrine

Jishu shrine is the playful younger sibling to Kiyomizu temple, the tourist party temple, and like many complexes in Japan, the shrine and temple are side by side. In fact, the uninformed tourist might assume that the little Jishu shrine is a part of Kiyomizu and not a separate place in its own right. Dedicated to love and relationships, Jishu's god is a Okuninushi-no-Mikoto assisted by a rabbit deity.

Okuni-nushi-no-mikoto also serves as a creator god in the Izumo Fudoki, an eighth century text detailing the customs of the people of Izumo. Okuni-nushi-no-mikoto means "Great Land Owner or Master God," and in the Kojiki mythology Okuninushi is made ruler of the unseen world of spirits and souls.

Couples visit the shrine and try out a love challenge, where one person must walk twenty feet from one boulder to another with their eyes closed. Failure means failed romance. On crowded, hot summer afternoons at Jishu, failure can actually happen. I think the boulders are about twenty feet apart, and people can get verbal help from friends.

Unlike Kiyomizu, Jishu shrine actually has a large collection of charms to choose from. This one here is particularly special to me. I purchased it on my first trip to Japan, and I jokingly looped it onto a belt loop and told my friends if they lost me to listen for the chime. Like a cat. The charm is for happiness. I have quite a bit of it in Japan.

A basic omamori from Jishu Shrine.

A stuffed rabbits greets visitors looking over omamori and talismans for sale. 

Worshippers pray at Jishu Shrine.

A tree riddled with holes on the grounds of Jishu Shrine. Believers in Okage-Myojin, a guardian deity for ladies,  would turn to him for revenge. During the Medieval period, vengeful women would nail straw dolls of their enemies to the cedar trees on the grounds of Jishu Shrine. These straw dolls, sort of like voodoo dolls, would place a curse on their enemies. Okage-Myojin is said to answer any prayer...  Many nail marks are visible on trees even today.