"Fox (kitsune) sculpture with red bib at Fushimi Inari Taisha, Shinto shrine, Kyoto, Japan. Foxes (kitsune), regarded as messengers, are often found in Inari shrines. Fushimi Inari Shrine (Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shrine. Bright vermilion Senbon Torii (""thousands of torii gates"") straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari (233 meters). Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, honored in many statues. The shrine predates the capital's move to Kyoto in 794. The torii gates are donated by individuals and companies, as inscribed on the back of each gate. Prices for small to large gates run from 400,000 to over one million yen."
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