Inari was originally -- and remains primarily -- the kami of rice and agriculture. But over centuries, the deity's portfolio expanded to include business and commerce, making the shrine a magnet for merchants and entrepreneurs. The fox statues found throughout the grounds are not the deity itself but Inari's messengers, the kitsune, often depicted holding a key to the rice granary in their mouths or a sacred jewel. Their stone faces, some weathered smooth by centuries of rain, guard every turn and stairway. The shrine's main object of worship is a mirror, displayed in open view rather than hidden behind closed doors -- an unusual departure from most Shinto shrines, but standard practice for Inari shrines across Japan.

The earliest structures at Fushimi Inari were built in 711 on Inariyama hill in southwestern Kyoto. In 816, the monk Kukai -- the founder of Shingon Buddhism -- requested the shrine be relocated. The shrine gained imperial patronage during the Heian period: in 965, Emperor Murakami decreed that messengers carry written accounts of important events to the guardian kami of Japan, and the Inari shrine was one of the original sixteen recipients. The main shrine structure standing today was built in 1499. From 1871 through 1946, Fushimi Inari-taisha held the distinction of Kanpei Taisha -- a first-rank, government-supported shrine. A 1786 drawing depicts the two-story entry gate as having been built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord whose influence shaped so much of Kyoto's sacred architecture.

The shrine sits at the base of Mount Inari and the trails ascending the mountain span the full height, taking approximately two hours to walk to the summit and back. It is unclear whether the mountain was named for the shrine or the shrine for the mountain. Behind the main halls, the torii-lined path climbs through forest, passing tens of thousands of rock altars called otsuka -- personalized Inari shrines set up by private citizens, most with individual names for the deity engraved on stone. The shrine is open around the clock, its approach and main paths illuminated all night, with no entrance fee. During the Japanese New Year, the shrine draws several million worshippers -- police reported 2.69 million over three days in 2006, the highest count of any shrine in western Japan.

In the approach to the shrine, sweet shops sell tsujiura senbei, a form of fortune cookie dating to at least the 19th century. Some food historians believe these Japanese crackers -- with their folded shape and paper fortunes tucked inside -- are the true ancestors of the American fortune cookie. The shrine's cultural reach extends further still. Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has attributed the creation of the Star Fox video game series to his childhood experiences at Fushimi Inari. The shrine sits within walking distance of Nintendo's Kyoto campus, and Miyamoto drew inspiration from the fox imagery and the sensation of passing through the shrine's colorful gates, translating those experiences into Fox McCloud flying starfighters through rings in aerial combat.

The custom of donating a torii began during the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868. A business or individual who experienced good fortune would commission a gate as an offering of thanks; those hoping for future success would do the same, essentially making a down payment on prosperity. The practice never stopped. Successive gates have been added continuously up to the present day, with donors' names and dates of dedication inscribed in black ink on the back of each vermilion column. The result is a living record of Japanese commerce and aspiration stretching across four centuries. The gates age at different rates -- some glowing fresh orange-red, others faded to soft gray, a few wrapped in moss -- creating a visual timeline of wishes made and wishes answered.