Tag: Inari

Inari origins

October 10, 2019 / John D. / 0 Comments

The main approach to Fushimi Inari leads to the magnificent romon gate
(photos on this page by John Dougill)

The following is excerpted from a translation of the sixth chapter of Bruno Lewin s Aya und Hata Bevolkerungsgruppen Altjapans kontinentaler Herkunft Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962 Studien zur Japanologie, vol. 3, translation by Richard Payne with Ellen Rozett (Pacific World, New Series, No. 10, 1994)

One of the most wide-sweeping impacts on folk Shinto was the Inari cult initiated by the Hata, which consists of the worship of the deities of the crops. The point of origin of the cult was the Inari Shrine, in the District of Yamashiro and situated in the territory of the old royal domain of Fukakusa. Concerning the establishment of this shrine, the Yamashiro-fudoki reports:

Hata no Kimi Irogu, a distant ancestor of Hata-no-Nakatsue no Imiki, had amassed rice and possessed overflowing wealth. When he made a target (for archery) from pounded rice, this transformed itself into a white bird, which flew up and alighted atop a mountain. There it again became rice and grew upward. Inenari (“becoming rice”) is given therefore as the shrine’s name.

In addition the Jingi-shiryo clarifies this, saying that Irogu, moved by this wonder, in the fourth year of Wado (711) erected a shrine there and worshipped the transformed rice plant, on account of which the shrine was called Inari « inenari. Accordingly, the shrine is of a comparatively late date, though there can be no doubt that the Hata as long-standing cultivators of rice had long possessed the cultic worship of the rice gods, but now mixed with the cult of Inari shrine worship of the Japanese food deity Ukemochi-no-kami. In the Inari shrine the deities Uka-no-mitama-no-kami, Saruka-biko-no-kami and Omiya-nome-no-mikoto are worshipped. Uka-no-mitama is the main deity of the shrine, identical with Ukemochi.

Torii tunnel at Fushimi Inari, signifying passage into the spiritual realm

During the middle ages, the worship of the rice and food deities in the Inari cult spread over the whole of Japan. One can still count about 1,500 Inari shrines, most of them small field and village shrines, in which the fox whom one frequently comes across in the fields, is also worshipped, either as messenger of the deity or even as an incarnation of the deity itself.

The Inari shrine of Fukakusa is considered to be the mother shrine of all of these cultic sites. Its priesthood descended without exception from the prosperous Hata families of the surrounding area. From the Heian era the priests have borne the status name of Hata no Sukune . Gradually there separated out from amongst them more branch families: the Nakatsue, Nakatsuse , Onshi, Matsumoto, Haraigawa, Yasuda, Toriiminami and Mori.

The Inari shrine forms a triangle with the shrines of Kamo and Matsuno’o, in the middle of which was placed the final capital, Heian kyo. All three cultic sites enjoyed the support of the Imperial palaces and were visited in the course of history again and again by individual emperors to venerate the divinities there. The integration of the Hata with the history of these powerful shrines shows what a prominent position they possessed in the territory around Heian kyo. We can well assume that Kammu-tenno, in shifting the capital, allowed himself to be guided by the effort to remove himself from the immediate of the Yamato aristocracy and to lean instead on the rich and loyal, though politically unambitious, Hata clans.

One of the countless fox guardians found on the hill behind the Fushimi Inari shrine

Setsubun (Fushimi Inari)

February 7, 2019 / John D. / 0 Comments

Young women throwing beans during the mamemaki at Inari

Kyoto is blessed with Setsubun events, and so far I’ve done the rounds at Yasaka, Yoshida, Shogo-in, Heian Jingu, Rozan-ji, and Mibu-dera. This year I thought I’d try Fushimi Inari (next year it will be Matsuo Taisha).

Cosplay rental shops doing a good business these days

Unlike other places, Fushimi Inari does not go in for a performance of oni demons or spectacular fire ceremonies. Instead it has two sessions of mamemaki (bean throwing) at 11.00 and 13.00. As explained in a previous post, the beans symbolise the life force, and have the power to drive away demonic forces.

The bean throwing is done by a team of parish members and young women in kimono born in the zodiac year 24 years ago. They all line up around the kagura stage and throw out packets of beans. It’s all over in about five minutes, and everyone goes home happy as there are plenty of beans for everyone. (Catch them and you’ll have luck through the coming year.)

The most interesting item as far as I was concerned was a lucky charm called shirushi no sugi. This consists of red and white shide (paper strips) on a wooden stick with a picture of Otafuku and a cedar sprig attached. Otafuku makes sense, since the plump cheeked woman is a symbol of fertility like the beans, and therefore an enemy of anything injurious to life, like evil demons. (For a previous piece on Otafuku, click here.) But what of the cedar? I asked one of the priests, and this is the interesting answer I got.

shirushi no sugi on sale at the shrine

In Heian times, when the Kumano pilgrimage was popular, people starting out from Kyoto would stop off at Fushimi Inari to take a sprig of cedar from the hill, because it was considered sacred (the whole hill was imbued with kami). They attached this to their robe as a sign they were on pilgrimage and showed it to the priests in Kumano to be blessed. On their return to Kyoto, they headed again for Fushimi Inari and planted the sprig on the hill. If it took root and started to grow into a new tree, then their wishes would come true.

It’s a pleasant custom in lots of ways, for it asserts the divinity of nature and suggests an environmental element to Inari spirituality. Good to see it still surviving1000 years later, if only as a token charm. Good for Inari, and good for Otafuku!

Poster advertising the shirushi no sugi for Y1000 ($9) with Otafuku face.

Otafuku fertility on display with red and white paper strips (shide) signifying celebration and happiness.

Ujiko (parish) members pose for a photo following their bean throwing. Looks like they enjoyed it!

Some were better at throwing long distance than others…

New businesses are seizing the opportunity that Fushimi Inari’s spectacular rise in popularity has brought…

Some look just the part as a result.

L.A. Oshogatsu (New Year)

December 12, 2016 / John D. / 0 Comments

Shinto opportunity in the City of Angels coming up!

The fox guardian of Inari shrines

Little Tokyo in Los Angeles celebrates New Year’s Day with an Oshogatasu Festival. Live entertainment, stalls, Japanese food, mochi-making, taiko, kendo – and a Shinto priestess with sacred items on offer.

Izumi Hasegawa is a licensed priest with the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honcho). She runs the Shusse Inari Shrine of America, and though there is no permanent shrine building at present, she is operating with a mobile altar and plans to do Saitansai at 12.30. She writes: “I will have 2 booths. One is the Amulet office, the other is Saidan (movable altar).”

The American operation is a branch of Shusse Inari Shrine which is located in Matsue City in Shimane Prefecture. The shrine dates from the 12th century, and the main deity is Uka-no-mitama-no-Kami, deity of productiveness and business (a manifestation of the kami Inari). Also enshrined are Homudawake-no-Mikoto, to whom samurai paid respect, as well as the deity of water and the deity of health.

Shusse Inari Shrine is known for Good Luck, Business and Careers, Recovery from Illness, Marriage and Connections, Good Catch of Fish and Good Harvests, as well as Success in Studies. Recently, Shusse Inari Shrine has become popular for Good Luck in the lottery.

Shusse Inari Shrine of America performs various services such as Success in Business ceremony for new restaurants or offices, Safety in Driving for new cars, Safety and Success for Dojo of Karate/Judo/Kendo, Shichi-go-san (7-5-3), Weddings, etc.

The following items will be on offer at the festival in return for a donation: Ofuda (amulets), Omamori (charms), Ema (prayer boards), and Engi-Mono (bamboo rakes, decorative arrows, etc.). All items have been blessed (if you would like a personalized blessing, apply to the shrine in advance).

Izumi Hasegawa can be contacted by clicking here.

Izumi Hasegawa in front of the Shusse Inari Shrine in the Izumo regiion

Izumi Hasegawa in front of the Shusse Inari Shrine in the Izumo region

Neo-Shintoism

March 19, 2016 / John D. / 8 Comments

A Pagan Shrine for Ostara with easter eggs and stone figures of Mary & Joseph from a Saxon-inspired nativity set – a syncretic touch in a postmodern age

With the spread of Shinto overseas, there are some exciting transformations taking place as innovators adapt Japanese practice to their needs. This is particularly evident in the marriage of Shinto to contemporary paganism, with pioneers creating something that might be called Neo-Shintoism. (See an earlier piece on Minzoku NEO-shinto.)

One of the most articulate advocates of the neo-Shinto movement is Megan Manson, an eclectic pagan practising in the UK and piecing together a remarkably coherent set of practices. She runs her own blog, has lived in Japan and is involved with Japan-UK relations. In a recent article for the interfaith Patheos site, she wrote of “How I found the Shinto-Pagan Path“, and in the extract below she describes what initially drew her to Shinto.

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There are many possible reasons for the harmonious relationship between the scientific rationality and spiritual outlook held by a large proportion of the Japanese population, but I think one of the most important is that in Shinto, actions take precedence over belief. In my experience, many Japanese aren’t too sure what they believe at all – additionally, they do not consider having well-defined spiritual beliefs as particularly important. They’ll carry on making pilgrimages to shrines, going to festivals and taking part in seasonal Shinto rituals without worrying too much about whether or not the kami really exist. They do it partly because they enjoy doing it; it feels “right” to them.

When I realised this, I understood that this was the missing piece of the puzzle for me. I had approached Paganism from a Western, Christian perspective, probably due to my Catholic background. I thought that faith was a fundamental starting point for spirituality, and that one had to essentially choose between whether to trust in science or believe in religion. Shinto taught me that this was not the case at all. It taught me that it was OK to be a Pagan for no other reason than it feeling “right,” and that one could still follow a religion and hold scientific fact to be just as valid. As I grew to learn more about Neopaganism and the Pagan community, I realised that many other Pagans in fact feel exactly the same way.

A simple Inari altar

I continued to use Shinto as a framework for my Pagan beliefs, and as I did so, I realised that I was becoming increasingly drawn to venerating the Shinto kami themselves along with Western Pagan deities, and one kami in particular: Inari Okami. Carrying across the Neopagan concept of a “patron” deity, I set up an altar to Inari in the courtyard outside our house, where we would often be visited by foxes. Inari has been my patron ever since.

Seeing the fox cross my path [one] summer afternoon gave me a moment of intense clarity. I understood that my interests in Paganism, science, and Japan were all connected. Whether or not this was truly a message from Inari, I suppose I’ll never know, but it was enough to confirm that I’d found the spiritual path for me – one that blended all of these ideas together.

So now I consider myself a Shinto-Pagan, practising both religions side by side. I celebrate the eight festivals of the Neopagan Wheel of the Year in addition to Japanese festivals. I participate in a local moot where our rituals are very much Wicca-influenced, invoking the Great God and Goddess and involving circle casting and calling the four elements; I also make regular offerings and Shinto norito prayers at my Inari altar.

To me, it seems natural to combine western Paganism with Shinto. Not only do the two religions have much in common in terms of their focus on ritual, nature worship and sense of duty to the ancestors, but as mentioned previously, Shinto is rarely practised in isolation from other religions in Japan. For me, Shinto is like a reactive chemical element – it likes to “bond” to other religious paths to create a new path that is best-suited to the practitioner. I find that my Shinto and Neopagan paths really complement and enhance one another. Even my blog’s title (Pagan Tama) reflects the Shinto-Pagan blend; the word “tama” is of special significance in Shinto and can be translated as “soul.”

Where my path will lead from now, I’m not sure. I feel that there is so much out there to learn and that I’ve only just begun. But as the Japanese say, senri no michi mo ippo yori hajimaru – “Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

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For a podcast with Megan, click here. Megan talks about her path to Shinto, some of the history of Shinto and how it relates to the other religions practiced in Japan. What is the difference between Japan and the West in regards to religious identity? What does it mean to be multi-faith, and how do we explain it to others?

Megan’s Shinto shrine is dedicated to Inari Okami. The picture behind is a painting done by an art teacher at the school in Nagasaki where she used to work – a view from the school window that now acts as a “window to Japan”.

Zen and Shinto 5: Kodai-ji

February 13, 2016 / John D. / 0 Comments

The Tenmangu shrine at the Zen temple of Kodai-ji

Kodai-ji is one of Kyoto’s top tourist attractions, forever associated with Nene (1546-1624), principal wife of supremo Hideyoshi. It’s known for the beauty of its gardens, the wealth of Important Cultural Assets, its connections with tea, but above all for the magical light-ups in spring (cherry blossom) and autumn (maple leaves) when dazzling images are reflected in shallow ponds.

Following the death of her husband, Nene became a nun and was given the honorary title Kodai-in, from which the temple takes its name. It won the patronage of the Tokugawa shogun, whose side Nene took in the dispute with her late husband’s son. As a result the temple has a lavish touch, with sumptuous grounds and use of gold-embossed ‘Kodai-ji lacquer’. Though Nene belonged to the Soto sect, she willed her temple to Sanko Joeki, the Rinzai abbot of Kennin-ji.

Sacred rock with omikuji fortune strips outside Kodai-ji

On a recent visit I was struck by a number of items in the vicinity. One was a sacred rock with omikuji fortune strips but no explanation. Do Chan temples in China venerate rocks, I couldn’t help wondering?

The rock lies near to a Tenmangu Shrine, standing outside the Zen compound but clearly an extension since it has a tiled Buddhist roof. I guess this is another of those shrines not included in the 80,000 figure claimed by Jinja Honcho. A noticeboard at the shrine says that Temma-Tenjin (posthumous name of Sugawara Michizane) was revered by Nene, and that if you walk around the hall three times your wish will be granted and misfortunes disappear. (Sugawara is linked with Kodai-ji’s parent temple Kennin-ji, because while a priest named Enni Ben’en was studying there, he had a vision of Sugawara no Michizane who told him to go to China and study meditation. When he returned, he founded Tofuku-ji.)

Interestingly for a kami shrine, candles and incense were on offer (one stick of each for ¥100). The furnishings too were Buddhist style though with some typical Shinto elements, such as sakaki and salt-saké containers.

At the Tenmangu Shrine candles and incense sticks are on offer

At the Tenmangu Shrine, unusually for a kami, candles and incense sticks are on offer

As with other Tenjin shrines, the ema tablets show a preoccupation with passing exams, with ‘Dream’ (as in Ambition) the main theme. At some point in modern times Tibetan-style ‘mani wheels’ were added. These contain the Heart Sutra, and the visitor can earn merit by turning each one as they walk around the hall clockwise. I wonder if this is a unique case of a kami shrine encircled by Buddhist prayer wheels?

Round the corner, on the main ‘Nene thoroughfare’, a subtemple called Gesshin-in houses a rather wonderful small shrine named Ko-Inari Daimyojin. The simplest of affairs, it has a small hokora, stone lanterns with wooden cut-outs of foxes, and a rather cute enmusubi fox pairing that I haven’t come across elsewhere (see below).

Tenjin and Inari are two of the most common kami in Shinto, so it was interesting that they should feature so prominently at a Zen temple. There is no resident priest at Kodai-ji, but it belongs to the Kennin-ji School of Rinzai Zen and priests from the monastery visit daily to carry out rituals, including refreshing the offerings etc at the kami shrines. No doubt these practitioners of ‘no-mind’ are aware of the significance of the kagami (mirror) to which they make obeisance. By removing the ‘ga‘ (ego) from the person reflected in the mirror, the ‘kagami’ becomes ‘kami’!