118 ~ Inari Daimyoujin (Pilgrimage Route Map)

 

Japanese Name:  稲荷大明神
Romanized Reading: Inari Daimyoujin
English Translation: Inari Great Radiant Deity
Size: Small Side Shrine of Hounsenji
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 26-Apr-2018
Location: Tokyo-Shinagawa
Address: 3 Chome-5-17 Minamishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tōkyō-to 140-0004

A small side shrine of Hounsenji (品川寺  "Goods River Temple"). Note how the temple is written with the exact same Kanji for "Shinagawa", and yet is pronounced differently. That's just how the Japanese language works, I'm afraid. The reason for that is actually quite simple: For the longest time, Japan had no system of writing, and when it finally got one, different people all over the country just assigned Kanji to words and place names which they figured conveyed their meaning best. As a result, Japanese today has this garble of a language where a single Kanji can be pronounced in up to ten ways.

Anyway, foxes. There's only two foxes in here, and they are hidden behind the offerings, so just their tails and hindquarters peek out. You can still tell they are depicted in mid-bound though.

Also, remember how I told you that I ended up on a pilgrimage route? Well, here's how I can tell. Specifically, this is the Toukai Shichifukijin (東海七福神 "East Sea Seven Lucky Gods"), and it goes at the very least to Oomori (大森 "Great Forest"), and possibly beyond. Note that the facing of the map is towards the west, because in Japan public billboard maps are always mounted in such a way that the direction in which you're facing while looking at it is up. It takes some getting used to, but it is actually quite convenient. Anyway, looks like I luckily struck cultural gold here! Yay! =^,^=