Inari Shrine

An Inari shrine (稲荷神社, Inari Jinja^?) is a shinto shrine to worship the god Inari. There are many Inari shrines in Japan. The deity is worshiped also in some Buddhist temples.

Inari is a popular deity with shrines and Buddhist temples located throughout most of Japan. According to a 2007 report from Kokugakuin University, 2970 shrines are dedicated to Inari. This number includes only Shinto shrines that are registered as religious corporations and part of the Association of Shinto Shrines; if small roadside or field shrines, shrines kept in a home or corporate office, and Buddhist temples were included, the number might increase by an order of magnitude.

The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion torii and some statues of kitsune, which are often adorned with red yodarekake (votive bibs) by worshippers out of respect. This red color has come to be identified with Inari, because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their torii. The main shrine is the Fushimi Inari-taisha in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, where the paths up the shrine hill are marked in this fashion.

The kitsune statues are at times taken for a form of Inari, and they typically come in pairs, representing a male and a female. These fox statues hold a symbolic item in their mouths or beneath a front paw — most often a jewel and a key, but a sheaf of rice, a scroll, or a fox cub are all common. Almost all Inari shrines, no matter how small, will feature at least 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 a seated animal with its tail in the air looking forward. Despite these common characteristics, the statues are highly individual in nature; no two are quite the same.

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