590 ~ Kawasaki Inarisha

 

Japanese Name: 川崎稲荷社
Romanized Reading: Kawasaki Inarisha
English Translation: River Cape Inari Shrine
Size: Medium
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 4
First Visit: 2-Feb-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 〒210-0001 Kanagawa, Kawasaki, Kawasaki Ward, Honcho, 2 Chome−10-9 川崎稲荷神社
Coordinates: 35.53505,139.70581

It is now only a few days before the end of my first and longest stay in Japan ends. During my year here, I have visited almost 600 fox shrines all around the land.

It goes without saying that I should not let it end this close to the psychologically important milestone mark, and so I embark on an epic stray around Kawasaki and southern Tokyo to find a few more fox shrines.

This is the first one that I should find on that tour. Hidden between tall apartment blocks, it is watched over by two life-sized stone foxes, and a pair of tiny porcelain foxes reside within.
 

CAT 2 ~ Mikii Inari

 

Japanese Name: 美喜井稲荷
Romanized Reading: Mikii Inari
English Translation: Beautiful Rejoice Well Inari
Size: Medium
Deity: Inari
Cat Count: 4
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 4 Chome-9-19 Akasaka, 港区 Minato-ku, Tōkyō-to 107-0052
Coordinates: 35.67514,139.73248

We're finally no longer at Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin, but still very close. Literally only across the street, there's another Inari shrine above the driveway of a garage. You have to climb some stone steps to get to it, and then you're greeted not by foxes, but rather a life-sized stone cat with a red bib. Above the shrine, there are carvings of two more cats - one with a bird on its paw, while the other seems to be devouring souls. Inside, there's at least one Maneki Neko (招き猫 "Waving Cat"). 

FROG 1 ~ Toyokawa Mizu Jinja

 

Japanese Name: 豊川水神社
Romanized Reading: Toyokawa Mizu Jinja
English Translation: Toyokawa Water Shrine
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin
Deity: Water
Frog Count: 5
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0051
Coordinates: 35.6764 139.7325

We've covered all of the vulpine side shrines of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin, but there's still one more side shrine worth of notice here: This tiny shrine is literally dedicated to water, so it makes sense that it would have a bunch of frogs as its guardians.

This is actually not the first shrine featuring foxes, but since the last one (The Suehiro Ookami Cluster in Kyoto) also featured many foxes, it did not get marked explicitly as a FROG shrine. So this is officially the first pure frog shrine that I came across.
 

589 ~ Kana Inari-son Ten

 

Japanese Name: 叶稲荷尊天
Romanized Reading: Kana Inari-son Ten
English Translation: Granting Honorable Inari Heaven
Size: Small Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 25
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0051
Coordinates: 35.6764 139.7325

The 14th and final vulpine side shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin.This one is further to the back, and features a pair of life-sized stone foxes in front. And inside, there are I think four small stone foxes, 17 tiny white ones, as well as 2 tiny gilded porcelain foxes. I say "I think" because the picture from inside that I took was pretty dark, and even brightened up to the max there was only so much detail I could tell apart. Either way, definitely a lot of foxes here!

588 ~ Yuuzuu Inari

 

Japanese Name: 融通稲荷
Romanized Reading: Yuuzuu Inari
English Translation: Loan Inari
Size: Small Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 16
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0051
Coordinates: 35.6764 139.7325

The 13th vulpine side shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin. This one is located to the right of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin Okunoin. A pair of life-sized stone foxes sits outside, with a second, slightly smaller pair residing inside, along with a dozen tiny porcelain foxes, four of which are gilded.

From what I could translate from the plaque at the side, I think that praying here is supposed to bring you wealth.
 

587 ~ Toyokawa Dakini Shinten

 

Japanese Name: 豊川吁枳尼真天
Romanized Reading: Toyokawa Dakini Shinten
English Translation: Bountiful River Dakini Deva
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin
Deity: Dakini
Fox Count: 5
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0051
Coordinates: 35.6764 139.7325

The twelfth vulpine side shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin. I'm not 100% certain where exactly this one was located, but clearly it was somewhere next to all the flags. This one is another Dakini shrine, even though the name is spelled slightly different than at the earlier one (吃枳尼 VS 吁枳尼). This comes down to variations in so-called Ateji (当て字 "Right Character"), which refers to the practice of using Kanji to convey pronunciation instead of meaning. This dates back to the time before Hiragana and Katakana were used, and today is mostly found in religious contexts, such as the names of deities. The result is different spellings for the same deity, because clearly Japanese wasn't already confusing enough as it is.

Anyway, four life-sized stone foxes sit in front of this shrine, and one of the two to the right has a little fox kit, thus bringing the vixen side count to 19:42.
 

586 ~ Kosazu Reigitsune

 

Japanese Name: 子授霊狐
Romanized Reading: Kosazu Reigitsune
English Translation: Child Granting Spirit Fox
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 12
First Visit: 31-Jan-2019  
Location: Tokyo-Minato
Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0051
Coordinates: 35.6764 139.7325

The eleventh vulpine side shrine of Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin. This one is located to the left of the three previous shrines, at the very back wall of the temple compound. The name of this shrine clearly refers to Kosazuke (子授け), which means getting pregnant after a shrine visit. And since Inari is also associated with fertility, I guess this is where couples come to pray if they want children.

Anyway, a total of twelve life-sized stone foxes congregate on this shrine. At least one of those on the right has a little kit, thus bringing the vixen side count to 19:41. I say "at least" because the long red bibs of the foxes here might hide more foxes. As it is, I can just barely see the paws and head of that one fox kit peeking out from beneath its mother's bib.