The Deity Inari in Shintoism

Sanctuaire Inari

Sanctuaire Inari

Flick/ thaths

Inari, the fox kami with multiple origins

Deity of rice, harvest, and fertility, Inari is one of Japan's most famous and beloved Shinto deities. With more than 30,000 shrines dedicated, it is also one of the most honored in the country. Learn more about this kami which holds a special place in the hearts of the Japanese ...

Ema en l'honneur de Inari

Ema en l'honneur de Inari

Flick/ RinzeWind

The origins of the cult of Inari

 

Ancient, the cult of Inari as we know it today would have arisen from the meeting between Shintoism and the pagan cult of youkai. Pointing to the spirits of Japanese folklore, youkai is part of the legend since ancient times. Animals endowed with magical powers, ghosts, monsters, or simple minds of the forest, there are hundreds of youkai. Among them, the Kitsune, the spirit of Fox.

 

Found mainly in the mountains, the Kitsune is a metamorphic spirit that likes to play lost. Neither good nor bad, he would protect the crops of those who would feed him, when he is not playing mischievous tricks on men disguised as a beautiful woman... This characteristic, imitating the divinity Inari , contributed to the representation of the latter in the form of a fox.

 

 

 

Inari et un de ses emblèmes: la faucille

Inari and one of its emblems: the sickle

By Kazutaka NAKANO on Flickr, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode), https://www.flickr.com/photos/nknkztk/3374659964/

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