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赤いトンネル 伏見稲荷 / 写真原板データベース

The Inari Belief

Inari, the deity of rice who watches over successful harvests, is often associated with foxes, the messengers of the deity. The head branch of the Inari Shrine is the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.

Artifact Doctrine/Method Kyoto Customs/Folklore/Ethnology

Commonly referred to as ‘Oinari-san’, Uka no Mitama no Kami is the main enshrined deity of the Inari shrine. The ‘Uka’ in the god’s name refers to food, and Uka no Mitama is considered the deity of rice who watches over successful harvests.

The head branch of the Inari shrine is the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, built in the year 711. The Yamashirokoku Fudoki (Ancient Reports of Yamashiro Province) lost writings describe the origin of the shrine. The story goes: Hata no Irogu of the royal family of the region once used mochi (rice cake) as a target for his arrow. However, upon releasing his arrow, the mochi transformed into a white bird and flew to the peak of a mountain. A stalk of rice grew where it landed, and a shrine was built on this spot of spiritual power. 

The Inari shrine is often associated with foxes; however, the foxes are not gods themselves but messengers of the actual deity. Foxes lived in the lower slopes of the mountains and were considered useful animals as they would eat the rabbits and mice that would wreak havoc on the fields. The foxes would come down from the mountains around the same time that the rice stalks were ready to harvest, and this led people to believe that they were helpers of the rice deity. Over time, as Buddhism blended with the Japanese Shinto religion, Uka no Mitama no Kami was syncretized with the Buddhist spirit Dakini-ten, often depicted riding a white fox, and the corresponding images of rice and foxes were merged.

Because the deity is often depicted carrying ine (rice stalks), they were referred to as ‘Inari’. Although originally a god of agriculture, ‘Oinari-san’ has developed into a deity of commercial prosperity.

Related People, Things and Events

  • An Inari Shrine holiday; Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto has been crowded with worshipers from ancient times, and from there this holiday spread across the country during the Edo period (1603-1867)

  • The main enshrined deity of the Inari Shrine, Uka no Mitama no Kami, appears in Kojiki (“The Record of Ancient Matters”) and is also referred to as Uka no Mitama no Mikoto in Nihon Shoki (“Chronicles of Japan”).

  • Ise Shrine is the head shrine of all of the shrines in Japan, including Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, which is the head of all of Japan’s Inari shrines.

  • Itsukushima Shrine is located in Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture. It received a World Heritage Status in 1996, and together with Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of the Inari shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice, it attracts numerous visitors from Japan and abroad.

  • An Inari Shrine, like many other shrines, has shrine maidens who assist the Shinto priests.

Books

  • 清少納言,写

    「うらやましげなるもの」の段で、初午の日の伏見稲荷への参詣の様子が描かれている。清少納言が坂道を上るのに苦労していたところ、普段着の女性がさっさと行き過ぎたのをうらやましいものの一つとしている。

  • 藤原道綱母,天王寺屋源右衛門

    平安時代に藤原道綱の母によって書かれた「蜻蛉日記」にも、夫の愛情を求めて伏見稲荷に参詣する様子がある。

  • 土佐秀信 画,文彫堂

    稲荷神は、インドのダーキニーを起源とする仏教の荼枳尼天と神仏習合した。本書には、荼枳尼天の姿が絵図として収められている。

  • 一陽斎,山東京山,鶴屋金助

    2月初めの午（うま）の日を初午といい、稲荷の祭日とされる。この絵では、画面右手に「稲荷大明神」と書かれた幟が立ててある。

  • 大貫真浦 編,大貫真浦

    朝廷・国から神に奉献する幣物(へいもつ)の支払いを受ける官幣大社の社格の稲荷神社一覧。

  • 武田祐吉 編,岩波書店

    『山城国風土記』逸文に、伊奈利社（現・伏見稲荷大社）の縁起が掲載されている。

  • 写

    稲荷に関して記した絵巻物。

  • 県社祐徳稲荷神社々務所 編,県社祐徳稲荷神社々務所

    有徳稲荷神社（佐賀県鹿島市）の由来伝承を記した文献。

  • 官幣大社稲荷神社社務所 編,官幣大社稲荷神社社務所

    稲荷信仰に関する史料の集成。

  • 広重,相ト

    歌川広重が描いた王子稲荷神社。

Related Works

  • 桑村克久,By Katsuhisa,東京国立博物館,Tokyo National Museum

    江戸時代の刀剣の鍔（つば）。鳥居に狐で稲荷社がモチーフになっている。

  • 東京国立博物館,Tokyo National Museum

    画面中央で白い狐に乗り翼を広げた三面十二臂の神が荼吉尼天（だきにてん）。人間の死を予知する能力をもつとされ、日本では稲荷神と結びついた。

  • 東京国立博物館,Tokyo National Museum

    <p>This mask was worn for several roles such as a fox god and the ghost of a fox in Noh plays. It is made without eyelids and with ears, and coated with gold pigment, unlike most other examples of masks of the same type.</p>

  • 京都の伏見稲荷大社が初午詣でにぎわう様子が描かれている。2月初めの午（うま）の日を初午といい、稲荷の祭日とされる。

  • 伏見稲荷を描いた銅版画。

  • 黒田清輝筆,By Kuroda Seiki (1866–1924),東京国立博物館,Tokyo National Museum

    油彩。黒田の別邸の木立の中にある稲荷神社を描いた作品。

Videos

  • 山本勘助は十二歳から現在の愛知県豊川市牛久保町の大林勘左衛門の養子に入り、二十歳になって武者修行の旅に出たとされています。牛久保は、「兵法を極めん」と夢見た青年・勘助が過ごしたと伝わる町です。<br><br>（この動画は、２００７年に放送したものです。）

Institutions Holding Related Materials

  • 伏見稲荷大社の公式ホームページ

References

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Secondary Usage

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Last updated
February 15, 2023