Fushimi Inari-taisha

gldobbs
7 days ago
3 min read

November 12, 2025

"...there was one city that they must not bomb without my permission and that was Kyoto.”

- Henry Stimson, US Secretary of War, 1945

So it turns out that Kyoto was the top city on the list of targets submitted for the atomic bomb. All of this would be ashes if not for this guy.

This is Henry L Stimson. He was a powerful member of Franklin Roosevelt’s inner circle and served as both the Secretary of State and later the Secretary of War (Defense). According to history he ruled out this location for the initial two bombings. There is an apocryphal reason given for this ruling. Recently the famous movie Oppenheimer attributed it to Stimson traveling there on his honeymoon and thought the city was too beautiful to ruin. This story is not true. He did not visit Kyoto until 30 years after he was married.

More likely he felt due to the significant cultural heritage here, he thought such an action would further inflame Japanese hostility adversely affecting future relations.

Whatever the reason, the decision proved to be a good one. There is a lot here to see here. It would have been tragic to burn it all down.

We continue to stop at sites around the city. I was a little surprised with the size of Kyoto. It is similar to Hiroshima in population at 1.4 million. It is very modern with gleaming train stations, shopping districts, universities, museums, and more. I suppose I was expecting quaint little wooden buildings on narrow streets with the occasional Geisha cos-play person floating by. While that is here, it is a little hard to find initially. The sites to see are many, but spread out. You have to make use of the buses, trains, and taxi’s to get around. You also need a good idea of what you want to try to see.

Fushimi Inari-taisha was one of those places. This is a world famous Shinto Shrine that almost every one has seen a picture of at one time or another.

It is the home of over 1000 Tori gates. The brightly colored vermillion gates appear to float through a forest of Japanese maple trees and pines.

They vary is size, with some huge and some quite small, tightly together, and almost claustrophobic.

(Some of the gates appear to have corporate sponsorship! - I guess even here everyone sells out for the right price)

The symbol of Inari is the fox. This powerful Kami is said to control rice production and agriculture in general. As Kyoto modernized, the Inari spirit was said to have influence over business.

And it is a giant magnet for tourism. So we rolled out of bed early to try to beat the anticipated crowds. The train station literally stops right at the opening to the shrine.

For the most part we were successful and the weather continued to be kind.

We left the colorful gates for the stone walls of Nijo-Jo castle. This castle, smaller than others we have visited, was the home of the first Shogun of the Tokugawa family at the beginning of the Edo period.

Ieyasu Tokugawa built this place in 1603. He would live here for much of his rule, before the capitol was later moved to modern day Tokyo. This is the same Shogun whose fabulously ornate temple and grave we visited in Nikko earlier in the episode.