549 ~ Okunoin (Trees on approach)

 

Japanese Name: 奥の院
Romanized Reading: Okunoin
English Translation: Inner Shrine
Size: Medium Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 10
First Visit: 16-Jan-2019
Location: Toyokawa
Address: 1 Toyokawacho, Toyokawa, Aichi 442-0033
Coordinates: 34.82590,137.39228

The name marks this as the inner hall of Toyokawa Inari, so I am counting all the foxes on the path to here as part of this Temple. Which amounts to quite a few. Also, notice how there's a bunch of sacred trees standing right in front of the shrine on the main approach. That's what I call living in harmony with nature.

Here's the foxes on the approach to the Temple:

 

548 ~ Reikodsuka (Most foxes ever!)

 

Japanese Name: 霊狐塚
Romanized Reading: Reikodsuka
English Translation: Spirit Fox Den
Size: Medium Side Shrine of Toyokawa Inari
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: Uncountable
First Visit: 16-Jan-2019
Location: Toyokawa
Address: 1 Toyokawacho, Toyokawa, Aichi 442-0033
Coordinates: 34.82666,137.39146

Located at the very back of the Toyokawa Inari grounds, there's the one place in Japan with the highest concentration of foxes, beating even anything I've seen at Fushimi Inari Taisha. There, there are countless shrines side by side, each of them featuring foxes. Here, they have just skipped the shrines and filled at least a hectare of ground completely with stone foxes of varying sizes. Here's a close-up of the crowded area.

But that's not all! There's pairs of life-sized stone foxes flanking the entire approach... 

And then, there are also a lot of stone foxes who have more space to themselves in front of the crowded area. And there's also stone carvings of more foxes on several pedestals!

All this adds up to "If you like visiting fox shrines, then you have GOT to come here!" I will promise a fox-gasm!

 

547 GOLDEN ~ Toyokawa Inari

 

Japanese Name: 豊川稲荷
Romanized Reading: Toyokawa Inari
English Translation: Bountiful River Inari
Size: Complex
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 4
First Visit: 16-Jan-2019
Location: Toyokawa
Address: 1 Toyokawacho, Toyokawa, Aichi 442-0033
Coordinates: 34.82447,137.39236

The sixth golden fox place I've encountered during my travels in Japan, and actually a temple, and not a shrine. Kinda. This place exemplifies how closely married Shintoism and Buddhism are in Japan, because this is, in effect, a Buddhist temple worshiping a Shinto deity. Except it's complicated and I'd probably need a degree in Japanese religious studies to fully understand or explain it, but hey...

It's also one of the great ones, second only after Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, right down to the fact that the nearest train station is named after this shrine. In fact, if you read through the archives, you'll notice that I've already encountered quite a bunch of branch shrines of this one. Also, there was this one poster that I saw back in Kagoshima, but unfortunately I photographed it in such a way that the name of this place was illegible. Imagine my glee when I just randomly ran into it today, resolving that mystery.

Anyway, the main temple only features four large bronze foxes, but there is many more to be found on the extensive temple grounds, which by the way are laid out like this:

 

 

546 ~ Shinkouji Side Shrine

Japanese Name: ?
Romanized Reading: ?
English Translation: ?
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Shinkouji
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 16-Jan-2019
Location: Toyokawa
Address: 〒442-0046 Aichi-ken, Toyokawa-shi, Saiwaichō, 89
Coordinates: 34.82412,137.38725

The first fox shrine that I should find on my epic stray from Toyokawa to Toyohashi, and also the first humble fox shrine I should find in Toyokawa. This one is a side shrine of Shinkouji (真光寺 "True Light Temple"), and is located on an elongated stretch of land behind the temple (which is still in the middle of the city though). You need to walk for about 40m to get to this shrine from the temple. I wonder why it's so far away. It's not like there's anything else on that land.

One reason I could imagine is that this shrine is tied to the tree beneath which it stands, and that it came to be associated with the nearby temple. And then, when the land was developed, all the land between the shrine and the temple was considered part of the temple grounds. But all that is only my guess.

Anyway, two tiny foxes watch over this shrine, and they're not the usual porcelain pair. Instead, one is a typical white porcelain fox, and the other is a white stone or clay fox, that is a little bit bigger (but still tiny).

 

545 ~ Oogi Inari Daimyoujin

 

Japanese Name: 王禾稲荷大明神
Romanized Reading: Oogi Inari Daimyoujin
English Translation: King Tree Inari Great Radiant Deity
Size: Small Side Shrine of Susanoo Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 12-Jan-2019
Location: Toyohashi
Address: 26 Muroonishicho, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8089
Coordinates: 34.75178,137.35365

The first fox shrine that I should find in the Toyokawa/Toyohashi area. This one is located at the outskirts of Toyohashi, and I come across it in the evening after walking back to the station from the JMoF (Japan Meeting of Furries), which is what brought me here in the first place.

A side shrine of Susanoo Jinja (素盞鳴神社 "Naked Sake Cup Chirp Shrine"), two tiny porcelain foxes reside within.
 

🡻Nara - Toyokawa/Toyohashi🡹

This is just a marker post. All shrines before this post are in Nara, and all shrines after this are in Toyokawa, Toyohashi or in between.

544 ~ Genkuro Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name: 源九郎稲荷神社 
Romanized Reading: Genkuro Inari Jinja
English Translation: Original Nine Inari Shrine
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Kangou Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 3
First Visit: 8-Jan-2019
Location: Nara
Address: 二番地 Kangokucho, Nara, 630-8242
Coordinates: 34.68342,135.82542

The final fox shrine that I should find during my first visit to Nara. This one is again located in a courtyard, but this time, the entrance is to the east. Two tiny porcelain foxes reside within, together with one tiny stone fox who looks to have lost its counterpart.