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Inari jinja is a type of Japanese shrine used to worship the kami Inari. Inari is a popular deity associated with foxes, rice, household wellbeing, business prosperity, and general prosperity. Inari shrines are typically constructed of white stucco walls with red-lacquered woodwork, and their entrances are marked by vermilion torii. Both Buddhist and Shinto Inari shrines are located throughout Japan.
The development of Inari shrines began in the ninth century when Inari was appointed the protector kami for the Toji temple at Kyoto by Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. Kobo Daishi's recognition of the deity played a large part in the advancement of Inari worship. Recorded legend describes Kobo Daishi's ascent of Inari mountain, where he meets an old man and recognizes him as the rice kami, Inari. Kobo Daishi understood Inari's significance and built a shrine for the kami and inscribed on it the Chinese characters for "rice" and "sack". (2026). 9780824837136, University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 9780824837136
The spread of Inari worship first began through the kami's adoption as a yashikigami, which functioned as an estate deity that are commonly enshrined on family land. Inari worship expanded further as it was adopted by merchants of developing cities and became the kami of business. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the practice of Bunrei and re-enshrining deities became a common practice, especially in the case of Inari. The reason for this was to increase the status of the deity's town or patron. This practice continues today, and the Motomiya festival is held annually in celebration of the roughly one thousand enshrinements of the Inari kami. This number includes small household shrines and shrines belonging to other public institutions.
There are many different variations of Inari origin myths, many of which developed and changed based on local and personal worship practices. The function of Inari as a deity is fluid as over time, the term "Inari" has begun to encompass a wide variety of deities and beliefs.
When Buddhism first came to Japan during the Asuka period (6th century), many Buddhist temples were attached to Shinto shrines, Shinbutsu shugo the line between the two beliefs. It is said that in the 12th century, Kangan Giin had a dream of the Buddhist goddess Dakini-Shinten riding a white fox with Dakini-Shinten thus becoming the manifestation of the Shinto goddess Ukanomitama-no-mikoto. During the Shinbutsu bunri of Buddhism from Shinto during the Meiji restoration, Buddhist Inari temples survived by asserting Kangan Giin's belief and that they primarily worshipped Dakini-Shinten, not the fox, and that their congregation was only paying respect to the fox as her companion, which allowed them to continue to honor both.
The entrance to an Inari shrine is typically marked by one or more vermilion torii and images of foxes, which are often adorned with red yodarekake (votive bibs) by worshippers out of respect. The color red has come to be identified with Inari because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their torii.Smyers, Karen Ann. (1999). The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ; ; OCLC 39523475 The main Inari shrine is the Fushimi Inari-taisha in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, where the path to the shrine is marked by Senbon Torii.
Inari shrines typically possess guardian figures in the form of foxes or kitsune. These guardian figures are messengers of Inari but are commonly thought of as the deity itself. The kitsune statues typically come in pairs, and each represent a male and female. Often these fox statues hold symbolic items in their mouths or beneath their front paws. The items may include jewels or keys, which are most common, but sheaves of rice, scrolls, or fox cubs are also popular. Almost every Inari shrine, no matter how small, will feature a pair of these statues, usually flanking or on the altar or in front of the main sanctuary. The statues are rarely realistic; they are typically stylized, portraying seated animals looking forward with their tails in the air. Despite these common characteristics, the statues are highly individualistic in nature and no two are exactly the same.Lafcadio Hearn. Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan. Project Gutenberg e-text edition, 2005. 152-153. Retrieved on February 19, 2007. Today, fox statues found at entrances signify the presence of an Inari shrine.
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