Inari (Japanese: 稲荷) is the Shinto god of fertility, rice, and foxes. Inari's foxes, or kitsune, are pure white and act as his messengers. Inari is often identified with the Buddhist deity Dakiniten. A torii at Itsukushima Shrine Shinto (神道 Shintō) (sometimes called Shintoism) is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. ... Fertility is the ability of people or animals to produce healthy offspring in abundance. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... A fox is a member of any of 27 species of small omnivorous canids. ... Statue of kitsune at Inari shrine adjacent to Todaiji Buddhist temple Nara, Japan. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... A deity or a god, is a postulated preternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. ...

The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more red torii and some statues of kitsune. A famous floating torii at Itsukushima Shrine Gateway to Shinto shrine with torii A torii (Japanese: 鳥居) is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry to a Shinto shrine. ...

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Inari is a popular deity in Japan, with temples located in most places throughout. The main shrine is the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, where the paths up the shrine hill are marked with vermilion torii and statues of foxes, which are always adorned with a red bib out of respect. These statues are at times taken for a form of Inari. Offerings of rice, sake, and other food are given at the shrine to appease and please these messengers. Torii along path at Fushimi Inari (god) Shrine, Kyoto, Japan I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Torii along path at Fushimi Inari (god) Shrine, Kyoto, Japan I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Categories: Japan-related stubs ... The gates at Fushimi Inari Fushimi Inari Taisha is a shinto jinja dedicated to Inari, located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. ... Categories: Japan-related stubs ... This page is about the city Kyoto. ... Vermilion, also spelled vermillion, when found naturally-occuring, is often a reddish orange pigment, used since antiquity, originally derived from the powdered mineral cinnabar. ... Sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine Sake (é…’; pronounced IPA: SAH-KEH in Japanese, but often IPA: SAH-ki by English speakers) is a Japanese alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice. ...

Inari Shrine seal, Kasama Inari Shrine

Inari is variously depicted as either male or female. The god often appears as an old man, carrying a sack of rice, followed by two white foxes; however, Inari also frequently appears as a woman. It seems to be the case that, at one point, there existed two separate gods known as Inari — one male, one female; one a god of rice, the other a more general god of food and fertility. Over time, the separate gods became one composite mythological entity, who continued to be depicted as both male and female. The preferred gender of depiction varies by region and by one's personal beliefs. Because of Inari's close association with kitsune, Inari is also sometimes depicted as a fox. Folklore also attests to his shape-shifting abilities: on one occasion, Inari appeared to a wicked man in the shape of a monstrous spider as a way of teaching him a lesson. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 673 KB)Inari Shrine symbol, Kasama File links The following pages link to this file: Inari (god) ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 673 KB)Inari Shrine symbol, Kasama File links The following pages link to this file: Inari (god) ... Kasama (笠間市; -shi) is a city located in Ibaraki, Japan. ... Folklore is the body of narratives, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ... Suborders Araneomorphae Mesothelae Mygalomorphae See the taxonomy section for families Spiders are invertebrate animal(s) that produce silk, have eight legs and no wings. ...

Kitsune statue

In some parts of Kyushu, a festival or praying period is started five days before the full moon in November; occasionally it is extended to a full week. This is accompanied by bringing offerings of rice products to a shrine to Inari each day and receiving o-mamori (protection charms). The festival is particularly popular in the countryside near Nagasaki. Inari statue in shrine at Inuyama Castle, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. ... Inari statue in shrine at Inuyama Castle, Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyushu (九州) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... An amulet from the Black Pullet grimoire An amulet (from Latin amuletum, meaning A means of protection) or a talisman (from Arabic tilasm, ultimately from Greek telesma or from the Greek word talein wich means to initiate into the mysteries. ... Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) Nagasaki ▶(?) (長崎市; -shi, literally long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture. ...

External links

• Essay on Inari
• Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine