34 ~ Shiragiku Inari Shrine (Ceremony)

 

Japanese Name:  白菊稲荷神社
English Reading: Shiragiku Inari Jinja
English Translation: White Chrysanthemum Inari Shrine
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 27-Mar-2018
Location: Tokyo-Chiyoda
Coordinates: 35.6988343,139.7481253

A tiny Inari Shrine that is difficult to find, because you need to walk through a narrow gap between two buildings to get there. Also, a very special shrine again to me personally, since this is where I attended a Shinto shrine renewal ceremony. And only because my attention was caught by this random notice on the street.

This one is an invitation to the Hatsuuma Matsuri (初午祭 "First Horse Festival"), which refers to the first horse day in any month of the originally Chinese lunar calendar, and specifically the one of the second lunar month, which is apparently a traditional day of worship at fox shrines such as this one. Now, while I am not familiar with the Chinese lunar calendar, at least in this case I can say for sure that Hatsuuma fell on Tuesday the 27th of March in 2018, and after some searching I was able to find the Shrine, and even more amazingly, not only partake in but also record the Shinto ceremony taking place.

(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)