“The Mountain Path at the Fushimi Inari Shrine” (伏見稲荷お山みち) by Kamei Tōbei (亀井藤兵衛) (1901-1977)
Color woodblock, ink on Japanese paper adhered to card stock in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see source)
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“The Mountain Path at the Fushimi Inari Shrine” (伏見稲荷お山みち) by Kamei Tōbei (亀井藤兵衛) (1901-1977)
Color woodblock, ink on Japanese paper adhered to card stock in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (see source)
Inari Faith
Image via Unsplash of famous torii gate rows at Fushimi Inari Taisha
Who is Inari Ōkami?
Inari Ōkami is the kami of grains, food, and prosperity, and served by fox messengers (they themselves are not a fox). I use they/them pronouns for them in English as they are depicted as various genders (often androgynously). They are quite famous due to pop culture. A common misunderstanding even in Japan is that Inari Ōkami is a fox kamisama, when this is untrue – when depicted in art they are depicted as a human (an androgynous figure, young woman or old man). Foxes are actually their messengers and servants, also known as gokenzoku-sama.
What is Inari Faith?
Inari Faith is an English translation of the broad term 稲荷信仰 for the worship of Inari Ōkami.
The head shrine for this faith is the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyōto (pictured above), however, as it is a popular faith, there are Inari Jinja everywhere in Japan. Inari Ōkami was originally the ancestral kami of the Hata clan, an ancient clan that immigrated from what is now the Korean peninsula. Inari Ōkami usually is a name for a group of multiple kamisama – the specifics of which kamisama depend by the shrine, but typically it is Uka no Mitama no Mikoto, Sarutahiko no Mikoto, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, Toyouke Ōmikami, or Dakiniten, for more syncretic locations.
One of the key characteristics of Inari Faith is a closeness to Buddhism, as Inari Ōkami has been syncretized with Buddhist beings such as Dakiniten. Inari Jinja can have lot of syncretism going on so it’s always best to find out the specific history of a shrine you are interested in, as well as figuring out what forms interest you and why. They are also enshrined at Buddhist temples as well. Some of the top Inari shrines are actually Buddhist temples.
There is also a lot of cultural fear as Inari Ōkami is known to punish disrespect with tatari, due to probably many reasons – the power of their goshintoku (sacred blessings) over food, as well as the syncretism with Dakiniten. There is no need to worry about this as long as you respect them, properly give thanks, and worship them sincerely. It is not possible to invoke tatari at a kamidana, and this option should not be considered unless someone is desecrating an Inari shrine.
Two recognizable features of Inari shrines are crimson torii gates (though this alone does not necessarily mean a shrine is to Inari Ōkami, if many are lined up in a row like at Fushimi, it does!) and dedicated statues of their sacred fox messengers.
A kamidana with items for Inari Ōkami
The Actual Act of Worship
The act of worship for Inari Ōkami itself depends on the shrine or temple, but at its core isn’t too different from standard home worship. You can enshrine Inari Ōkami with other kamisama on a kamidana home altar. One noticeable difference is the items at the kamidana – there is more red, often a small pair of gokenzoku statues, and sometimes the mark of the wish jewel on the shinki ceramic offering vessels. Some also have banners or lanterns bearing Inari Ōkami’s name as well, but these are not inherent necessities of Inari Faith. It’s also important to note that if you are considering worshipping other kamisama then a kami-specific shinki set may not be appropriate for a single kamidana (you could address this by having separate kamidana, but it is not mandatory to keep the kamidanas separate otherwise). Despite Buddhist syncretism, you should not burn incense at a kamidana and take care to read the appropriate norito prayer for them, as there are separate Inari-specific norito.
Art of Toyokawa Inari (Dakiniten)
The shingon for Dakiniten are as follows:
オン・ダキニ・ギャチ・ギャカニエイ・ソワカ
On Dakini Gyachi Gyaka-niei Sowaka
オン・キリカク・ソワカ
On Kirikaku Sowaka (this is also a part of the Inari Shingyo)
ナウマク・サマンダ・ボダナン・キリカ・ソワカ
Naumaku Samanda Bodanan Kirika Sowaka
オン・シラバッタ・ニリウン・ソワカ
On Shirabatta Niriun Sowaka
The Inari Shingyō can be read here. The last three lines are the shingon of Dakiniten, a Buddhist/Hindu deity syncretized with Inari Ōkami. The Inari Mantra is said to have been written by a monk at the Buddhist temple of Aizenji.
豊坂稲荷神社(2017/09/30) Toyosaka-Inari-Shrine
東京都豊島区目白3丁目 Mejiro 3chome, Toshima, Tokyo, Japan
祭神は若宇賀女命、木花咲耶姫命。創建等不明だが、学習院構内にあったが学習院の移転に伴い現在地(豊坂)に遷座したとされる。境内社に市来嶋神社 。
Envoy of the god Inari.
Kitsune (and a guest kuroneko!) at Fushimi Inari 伏見稲荷大社.
白梅[Hakubai|Shiraume] Prunus mume
白[Haku|Shira-] : White
梅[Bai|Ume] : Prunus mume
About 1,100 years ago, there was a man who became the highest rank of scholar, became the Minister of the Right, after death, became a vengeful spirit, and became a heavenly deity. His name is Sugawara-no Michizane.
There is a legend that when he was relegated and left Kyoto, composed a waka poem for an ume in his garden, and then, it follwed him, flew to the place he was in and planted itself there. The place is 太宰府[Dazaifu](In Fukuoka Prefecture.) The ume is called 飛梅[Tobiume](Flying plum.) https://www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp/en/
An appellation for him as a deity is 天神[Tenjin]. And, the drupe of ume is called 天神様[Tenjin-sama](Sama is a honorific.)
Western Shintō and Orientalism
Frustratingly, and disappointingly, my years in the Western Shintō community have been tainted by years of racism and Orientalism. Teen Vogue has a great article introducing the concept of Orientalism here. I shall quote a particularly relevant passage which defines Orientalism quite clearly:
Put simply, the “Orient” is a colonial invention. Orientalism is a collection of binaries — between “East” and “West,” foreign and familiar, civilized and uncivilized, primitive and progressive, colonizer and colonized, self and Other. It is a system of representation through which the West produced the East as its opposite, its “surrogate and underground self” — a strange, backward, barbaric land, steeped in mysticism and danger.
You may wonder how Orientalism is applied to Shintō specifically. To give some examples, people may obsess over the more ‘dark’ folk customs (i.e. seemingly sexual rituals or ‘spooky’ folklore), or they may claim that Shintō should be praised for enduring as a polytheist religion (which it is not necessarily, and I find this argument to be only repeatedly made by white right wingers out to tokenize Shintō). Other times, people treat it like a fandom activity.
It is completely okay to like anime, manga, and Japanese video games, but what is not okay is to assume you have an understanding of Shintō, or any part of actual Japanese life and culture, from that media. I believe most Japanese-Americans have related to the frustration brought by well-meaning white people who misunderstand Japanese culture to be “just like anime”. Many people assume I watch anime or manga simply because I am Japanese.
Too often, I have seen white people who think that Japanese culture is one extreme notion or the other without actually reading about it. In Western Shintō spaces, this tends to manifest itself as a romanticized country where tradition is valued, which is not necessarily true. The opposite is also an Othering view, however – Cool Japan (i.e. the Japan of technological future) is not any less Orientalist than “I have brought shame to my family” Orientalism. Like any country, Japan has its problems, and many people are struggling for rights and change within it.
Orientalism within Shintō means white people who are not ordained nor familiar with the culture feel qualified, or even entitled, to being resources on Shintō, to acting like priests, to speak over Asians. Orientalism within Shintō means people sexualize miko, or fetishize Japanese women and girls.
Orientalism and its Othering dehumanizes us. By treating Shintō as rare, exotic, traditional/unchanged etc., you are treating our culture like a specimen under a microscope. It oversimplifies the diversity of practices that take place within Japan, is simply not historical, and silences voices from people of Japanese descent. Orientalism, of course, does not apply only to Japan, and I feel obligated to mention that I stand in strong solidarity with peoples from other parts of Asia who continue to be victimized by Orientalism. It is disheartening that we have to remind people we are humans and our cultures are as complicated as they are beautiful.
The end of Heian era by huge Tatari 2/2
I’d like to continue to tell you the story of 祟りTATARI. The first half of the story is here.
https://folklifejapan.tumblr.com/post/160566657231/the-end-of-heian-era-by-huge-tatari-01-now-im
TATARI is a revenge which someone perform after his death. We Japanese believed that If someone was killed or died because of intrigue or unfair treatment, his spirit stay in this world and try to revenge. Sometimes it result in disasters, such as earthquake, typhoon, pandemic. Of course they would occur without man-made reason.But ancient people regarded them as a TATARI. Look at the photos. These are ones of ‘白峯神宮Shiramine shrine’ in Kyoto. This shrine was established by the Emperor Meiji’s order in 1868. It was the first year of Meiji era. The god worshipped in this shrine is 崇徳院SUTOKUIN (1119-1164), He was the 75th emperor. the Eperor Meiji’s first job was to comfort the spirit of this emperor who died long ago. Why?
崇徳院 was an emperor but had no power. At that age the person who had most powerful authority was ‘鳥羽上皇TOBA JOKO’ , an ex-emperor. He was 崇徳院SUTOKUIN’s father. Because of 鳥羽TOBA’s existence, 崇徳院SUTOKUIN could controll nothing, he had no actual right or power to dominate nation,and his son could not become an emperor. After 鳥羽TOBA’s death the civil war occured. 崇徳院SUTOKUIN was arrested as one of the traitors and banished to 讃岐SANUKI( a part of Shikoku).
In Sanuki he lived a life as a Buddhist. He made a handwritten copy of a sutra. This behavior is supposed to be a worshipful training but some legend says he wrote those characters with his blood. As an evidence of his reflection he tried to offer those copies to the Imperial Court but the Goverment, as they felt malice and curse, refused to receive. He got angry bitterly, bit off his tongue. And with that blood he wrote thus 'I shall be a demon for Japan and make the nobles lower, and make lower ordinary people noble’. The legend says later at his funeral, when people laid his dead body in a coffin and tried to seal it, a lot of blood squirted from under the lid.
崇徳院SUTOKUIN’s 祟りTATARI was very huge. Until 1185 the rulers of Japan were the Emperor Family and aristocracy. But the next age, the age of 将軍SHOGUN and samurai was coming. People still believed the emperor was the only one who had the right to dominate Japan because he was a offspring of the strongest gods. So if a samurai wanted to dominate Japan, he had to get the emperor’s order or permission of becoming a shogun . To begin with, the position of '将軍SHOGUN’ was given by the emperor. This word means 'a leader of soldiers’ who fought against barbarians.SHOGUN can rule Japan only as a emperor’s proxy, or only as a guardian of aristocracy. At least it was an aspect to be. But in actuality, after several civil wars the samurai’s power was getting stronger than that of aristocracy. A samurai leader 源頼朝MINAMOTONO YORITOMO became a shogun. Useing the power, he dominated Japan under the name of the emperor. The nobles had to see their world collapsed. For them it was an unbelievable occurrance.Their society, their culture, their social system had gone with the wind. This is 崇徳院SUTOKUIN’s TATARI. The nobles had to wait for 700 years to get the power of dominating Japan back.
A.D. 1868 the Emperor Meiji ascended the throne. Japan had get an age of aristocrasy again. the Emperor Meiji built 白峯神宮SHIRAMINE JINGU shrine to comfort 崇徳院SUTOKUIN’s spirit,wishing him not to get angry anymore.
A scholar vs noble family, MICHIZANE’s TATARI 2/3
previous article is here
https://folklifejapan.tumblr.com/post/160983568541/a-scholar-vs-noble-family-michizanes-tatari-13
Are you a tourist visiting Japan? And do you have Japan Rail Pass ? It is a very convenient ticket to go around Japan. You can get on JR trains including Shinkansen. With this ticket please visit 湯島天神YUSHIMA-TENJIN in Tokyo, 北野天満宮KITANO-TENMANGU in Kyoto and 太宰府天満宮DAZAIFU-TENMANGU in 大宰府(near Hakata). All of these three shrines are for worshipping 菅原道真 SUGAWARANO-MICHIZANE. Visiting them in February, you will find ume blossoms blooming.
北野天満宮KITANO-TENMANGU and 太宰府天満宮DAZAIFU-TENMANGU are more important to tell his story.
菅原道真SUGAWARANO MICHIZANE (A.D. 845-903)was a great scholar,poet and politician in Heian era. At that time in aristocracy there was a strong family called Fuziwara’s who attempted to dominate Japan. The emperor Uda tried to eliminate their influence. So he made much of Sugawara-no Michizane. Michizane was from weak and small family but an efficient scholar and politician. With the emperor Uda, he achieved many political renovation. Eventually he was promoted to the Minister of the Right. It was a next seat to the Minister of left. Fuziwarano Tokihira, the Minister of left, hated Michizane severely and tried to remove him.
One day suddenly Michizane was arrested because of being suspected of planning a kind of rebellion.The trial had no mercy. They determined his banish to Dazaifu in Kyushu. Not only him but his family. He had many sons and daughters, some of them were very infant. All of them were banished to separate places. In deep grief, Michizane saw ume blossoms in front of him, and composed a poem called 和歌WAKA,
東風吹かば 匂ひおこせよ 梅の花 主なしとて 春を忘るな
KOCHIFUKABA NIOIOKOSEYO UMENOHANA
ARUJINASHITOTE HARUWOWASURUNA
‘Oh ume flowers, when east wind blows, please bloom your flowers and give off your scent. Your master left you , but you mustn’t forget the coming of spring’ (translated by Shige)
And he left Kyoto.Some legends says that ume tree missed its master so it flew the sky toward Dazaifu. It is said the tree reached its destination in one night.
to be continued,,,,,
Photo1 太宰府天満宮DAZAIFU-TENMANGU
Photo2 An ume tree in 太宰府天満宮DAZAIHU-TENMANGU
Photo3-4 ume trees in Shitara-Shinshiro area
A PSA about Tenchi Kane no Kamisama
Hi, this is my friendly reminder that Tenchi Kane no Kamisama is not all-powerful /omnipotent, does not control everything, nor do they set destinies for people, make people suffer as a test, or control other peoples free wills.
In fact, to believe that is to believe the very opposite of who Tenchi Kane no Kami is. They are the energy of nature, they are the energy of the universe. Everything in nature is interdependent, and thus reflecting, so is Tenchi Kane no Kami.
They need our help, they need people’s help, which is what the core teaching, Aiyo Kakeyo, is all about. Kamisama needs us as much as we need Kamisama. Help ourselves, and help each other in the world. Suffering happens for various reasons and its awful, but Kamisama does not inflict it and wants to help us through it and alleivate it at all costs. This is also the whole point of Konko faith and toritsugi mediation. To alleivate suffering and help people.
Its about finding the light, finding the good and the blessings *despite* a bad situation - not trying to forcibly mentally twist a bad situation into something good, or let alone saying it was Kamisamas plan.
In the first place, why would Kamisama plan to make someone suffer if their whole goal is to end suffering and see the happiness of people?
It doesnt make sense. In the gorikais, the stories of Tenchi Kane no Kamisama, they are crying as well seeing people suffer. The last thing they want is to make others suffer on purpose, let alone plan it.
If someone says such a thing, dont believe such an ignorant saying. Whoever says that needs to go back to the basics and really understand Kamisama, since they dont know anything at all.
Anyway, Ive been seeing and hearing a lot of weird things and misconceptions, so I wanted to clear that up. This has been my psa as a priestess of Tenchi Kane no Kamisama
京都 平野神社 2023年1月24日夜
京都 平野神社 ❄️雪景色2023❄️ 2023年1月25日
kyoto hirano jinja ❄️snow❄️ 25.1.2023
Tokyo Nishinippori 2021
Scenes from Kanazawa
Beautiful snowy afternoon in Kanzawa in December of 2022. More photos to come.
Gatehouse to Shrine (Enoshima Island, Fujisawa, Kanagawa Pref., Japan)
Zuishinmon, the gatehouse at the top of the first set of stairs, just past the grand torii gate, is modeled after the mythical Dragon King Castle (Ryugu-jo) that is depicted in the Japanese folktale “Urashima Taro.”
The kanji characters used for Zuishinmon (瑞心門) literally mean “pure” + “heart” + “gate” and named as such in hope that the hearts of visitors will be purified as they pass through the gate as they approach the shrines atop the island.
In this shot, we can also enjoy the sight of chochin paper lanterns that have been put out for the New Year’s holidays and used to light up the winding stairs leading to the top of the island.
Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 28 mm ISO 100 for 1 sec. at ƒ/22
京都 梨木神社 🍁紅葉2022🍁
kyoto nashinoki-jinja shrine 🍁autumn leaves🍁