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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 20 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 560 — map & image data — nearby photos
Zak Braverman photographs the main gate to the
Kaneda Inari Taisha Shrine
Kyoto, Japan

Buddhist shrines and Shinto temples can be almost any size, ranging from huge sprawling multi-building complexes, down to little things a few feet square. Often they're found in clusters, so it was no surprise when Zak Braverman and I went to visit the small Himukai Shrine tucked away at the base of a mountain in eastern Kyoto, we found next to the parking lot a tiny room-sized shrine, the Kaneda Inari Shrine.

What was somewhat surprising (to me, at least) was the state of its gate, rotting so much that I didn't dare touch it for fear of toppling it.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.2, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gate of Disrepair

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Kaneda Inarai Taisha”

Inarai shrines are dedicated to commercial/worldly success, and as I described in “Kyoto's Dazzling Fushimi Inari Shrine” post about the shrine 5km away with thousands of gates like this, they are donated by patrons hoping for good fortunes. If well maintained they can last for a long time, but if not, well, they very apparently don't last that long.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
“October 1993”

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Leafy Lichen

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nice View, Though

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.2, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fox of Many Lichen
fox idols are another hallmark of Inari shrines

I liked the foxes. According to the inscription, the fox statues dated from the 1950s. They looked much older; I suspect the location in the hollow at the base of a mountain with little direct sunlight leads to a continually humid environment good for lichen and bugs; not so good for wood and stone.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Structurally Sound
( the sound of crashing timber )

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Last Legs

The shape of the cement footers make for easy recognition, and so when you find a pile of broken footer pieces somewhere, you know that a gate used to stand nearby.

At least this one was still standing... one couldn't say the same to its friend in the scrap heap a few meters away...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Scrap
among lots of other stuff, the remains of an orange gate

Despite being fairly out of the way, there was a steady stream of other photographers visiting. Nothing like the teeming throngs at the Eikando Temple... maybe another few people every 10 or 15 minutes... so it was quite pleasant. But Zak and I were the only ones to pay any attention to the poor little gate....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Other Aims

What on earth could draw their attention away from such a noteworthy sight, you ask?

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Colorful Entrance to the Himukai Shrine

Continued here...