252 BRONZE ~ Ishiana Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  石穴稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Ishiana Inari Jinja
English Translation: Stone Cave Inari Shrine
Size: Medium
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 4
First Visit: 8-Oct-2018
Location: Dazaifu
Address: 2 Chome-13-1 Ishizaka, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0118
Coordinates: 33.5120098,130.536351

Another fox shrine hidden in the forested hills of Dazaifu. This one also features a number of foxy side shrines, thus earning it the rank of Bronze Fox Shrine. The main shrine already features two pairs of life-sized stone foxes watching over it.

251 ~ Tenkai Inari Daimyoujin (Cave)

 

Japanese Name:  天開稲荷大明神
Romanized Reading: Tenkai Inari Daimyojuin
English Translation: Open Heavens Inari Great Radiant Deity
Size: Small side shrine of Tenkai Inari Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: Many
First Visit: 8-Oct-2018
Location: Dazaifu
Address: 4 Chome-7-43 Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0117
Coordinates: 33.5229548,130.5378684

A small side shrine of aforementioned Tenkai Inari Jinja, this one is located inside a (probably artificial) cave. Inside, many tiny porcelain foxes lurk in the darkness around the altar.

250 ~ Tenkai Inarisha

 

Japanese Name:  天開稲荷社
Romanized Reading: Tenkai Inarisha
English Translation: Open Heavens Inari Shrine
Size: Medium
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 8-Oct-2018
Location: Dazaifu
Address: 4 Chome-7-43 Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0117
Coordinates: 33.5229548,130.5378684

A fox shrine located in the hills of Dazaifu, not far from the Dazaifu Yuuenchi (太宰府遊園地 "Thick Manager Borough Amusement Park"). A pair of life-sized stone foxes watch over this shrine.
 

249 ~ Asachika Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  朝近稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Asachika Inari Jinja
English Translation: Near Morning Inari Shrine
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 4
First Visit: 8-Oct-2018
Location: Dazaifu
Address: 1 Chome-12-1612 Sanjo, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0111
Coordinates: 33.5242185,130.532464

A tiny fox shrine on a forested hill, and the first fox shrine I should find in Dazaifu, after covering over two dozen shrines without foxes at the great Dazaifu Tenmangu (太宰府天満宮 "Thick Manager Borough Heavenly Full Hall"). Invited by a row of Torii going up the hill, I eventually arrive at a tiny stone shrine housing three tiny white porcelain foxes, and one tiny golden porcelain fox.

Rat 1 ~ Ookuni Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  大国神社
Romanized Reading: Ookuni Jinja
English Translation: Great Country Shrine
Size: Tiny
Deity: Daikokuten
Rat Count: 1
First Visit: 8-Oct-2018
Location: Dazaifu
Address: 4 Chome Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0117
Coordinates: 33.5187697,130.5347009

An unusual shrine that I should find on our "family trip" to Dazaifu, which is located roughly 12km southeast of Fukuoka. I say "family trip" because this consists of me, my host, her son, and and acquaintance and her offspring, and I really feel like I'm part of a family there.

Anyway, this shrine features a rat, and according to the plaque is dedicated to Daikokuten, one of the seven lucky Buddhist gods, specifically the one of craftsmen and miners. As for what's up with the rat, I honestly have no idea. Maybe the plaque tells, but if it does, I'm not skilled enough to make it out.

248 ~ Najima Toyokawa Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  名島豊川稲荷神社奥ノ院
Romanized Reading: Najima Toyokawa Inari Jinja Okunoin
English Translation: Famous Island Bountiful River Inari Shrine Inner Sanctuary
Size: Tiny side shrine of Najima Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 16
First Visit: 4-Oct-2018
Location: Fukuoka-Najima
Address: 1 Chome-26 Najima, Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, 813-0043
Coordinates: 33.6462258,130.4227953

Today is my 31st birthday, and of course, I should go to visit an Inari shrine on that day. The one that I visit is the Toyokawa Inari Jinja near Najima Jinja (246), and I am rewarded by finding another fox shrine nearby that I missed the last time around. There's a single life-sized stone fox here, along with 15 tiny porcelain and stone foxes mixed. What a nice birthday gift. =^,^=
 

Chicken 1 ~ Keiseki Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  鶏石神社
Romanized Reading: Keiseki Jinja
English Translation: Chicken Stone Shrine
Size: Small side shrine of Kashiigu
Deity: ?
Chicken Count: 2
First Visit: 2-Oct-2018
Location: Fukuoka-Kashii
Address: 4 Chome-16-1 Kashii, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken 813-0011
Coordinates: 33.6531168,130.4529735

Located directly next to aforementioned Inari shrine, there's this chicken shrine, which features two life-sized chickens as its guardians. Apparently, this shrine is not only dedicated to chickens, but also to children, and you can get talismans from this shrine that are supposed to prevent children from crying at night, just like chickens who only cry in the mornings.

This shrine also has its own website, which you can check out here: https://keisekijinja.com/ (it's in Japanese though, but there are pictures)

247 ~ Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Inari Jinja
English Translation: Inari Shrine
Size: Small side shrine of Kashiigu
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 10
First Visit: 2-Oct-2018
Location: Fukuoka-Kashii
Address: 4 Chome-16-1 Kashii, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken 813-0011
Coordinates: 33.6531168,130.4529735

A foxy side shrine of the huge Kashiigu (香椎宮 "Incense Mallet Hall"), a shrine complex located not far away from my stay place in Fukuoka. Two life-sized stone foxes sit watch outside, and on the inside there's six tiny porcelain foxes, and another pair of rare tiny clay foxes.

246 ~ Toyokawa Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  豊川稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Toyokawa Inari Jinja
English Translation: Bountiful River Inari Shrine
Size: Medium side shrine of Najima Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 1-Oct-2018
Location: Fukuoka-Najima
Address: 1 Chome-26-1 Najima, Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, 813-0043
Coordinates: 33.6460095,130.4227185

The first fox shrine I should find in Fukuoka (福岡 "Lucky Hill"), this one is a side shrine of Najima Jinja (名島神社 "Famous Island Shrine"), and overlooks the bay spanned by the Kashii Kamome Oobashi (香椎かもめ大橋 "Incense Mallet Gull Great Bridge") from atop a forested hill. A pair of life-sized stone foxes watch over this shrine. This is notably also one of several branch shrines of Toyokawa Inari scattered across the land.

🡻Tottori/Shimane - Fukuoka🡹

This is just a marker post. All shrines before this post were in Tottori or Shimane (my home base for this last segment was near the border, so these are a bit mixed), and all Shrines until the next marker are in (or near) Fukuoka on Kyushu. This should be another shrine-rich area, so we're gonna be here for the rest of the year.

245 ~ Oogami Okunomiya Shimoyama Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  大神奧宮下山神社
Romanized Reading: Oogami Okunomiya Shimoyama Jinja
English Translation: Great God Inner Hall Lower Mountain Shrine
Size: Tiny side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 7
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Odaka
Address: 1025 Odaka, Yonago, Tottori 689-3514
Coordinates: 35.4176019,133.4059709

The other foxy side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja, and the last shrine I should find in the Tottori/Shimane area. This one again might be an Inari shrine on account of the the two life-sized stone foxes sitting to the sides, in conjuncture with the five tiny porcelain foxes around the main... uhhh... rocks. Someone has also gathered a bunch of chestnuts as an offering. How thoughtful.
 

244 ~ Asamiya Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  朝宮神社
Romanized Reading: Asamiya Jinja
English Translation: Morning Hall Shrine
Size: Small side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja
Deity: Inari?/Amaterasu?
Fox Count: 6
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Odaka
Address: 1025 Odaka, Yonago, Tottori 689-3514
Coordinates: 35.4176019,133.4059709

A small fox shrine that I should find on my return trip from climbing Mt. Daisen. This one is a side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja (大神山神社 "Great God Mountain Shrine"), and there's a tiny lone foxy sitting in front of it, making a kinda lost impression. As such, I figure that the chance of it enshrining Inari is actually pretty low. Another educated guess from the name might be Amaterasu, but without a clear indication, both of these are just guesses.
 

243 ~ Shimoyama Kannondou (Temple)

Japanese Name:  下山観音堂
Romanized Reading: Shimoyama Kannondou
English Translation: Lower Mountain Kannon Hall
Size: Big side temple of Daisenji
Deity: Kannon
Fox Count: 6
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Daisen
Address: 9 Daisen, Daisen-chō, Saihaku-gun, Tottori-ken 689-3318
Coordinates: 35.3911499,133.5343679

The first fox place that I should find on my epic ride and hike up Mt. Daisen on the autumn equinox of 2018. This one is located at over 800m (and I started from sea level), this one is close to halfway up. A side temple of Daisenji (大山寺 "Great Mountain Temple"), this one is one of those rare Buddhist temples that feature foxes as their guardians. A pair of life-sized stone foxes wearing Shimenawa collars watch over this temple, and to their feet sit two small-to-tiny stone foxes each.
 

242 ~ Yodoe Rokkuno Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  淀江六区稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Yodoe Rokkuno Inari Jinja
English Translation: Creek Bay Sixth Ward Inari Shrine
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 23
First Visit: 20-Sep-2018
Location: Yodoe
Address: 551 Yodoecho Yodoe, Yonago, Tottori 689-3402
Coordinates: 35.4584607,133.429042

A tiny fox shrine not far from the Yodoe station. This is the one and only fox shrine I should find today, but in exchange, it features almost two dozen foxes: two life-sized stone foxes, and 21 tiny porcelain foxes.
 

Dragon 1 ~ Kayashima Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  蚊屋島神社
Romanized Reading: Kayashima Jinja
English Translation: Mosquito Net Island Shrine
Size: Big
Deity: ?
Dragon Count: 1
First Visit: 18-Sep-2018
Location: Hiezu
Address: 380 Hiezu, Hiezu-son, Saihaku-gun, Tottori-ken 689-3553
Coordinates: 35.4378235,133.3799936

The first proper dragon shrine that I find in all of Japan. Actually, a lot of shrines and temples feature dragons as design elements, but those really just feel like a supporting feature. This shrine, by contrast, has a huge and detailed dragon carving right in the very center, which makes it stand apart from other shrines, so that's why I wanted to point this one out.

241 ~ Funagami Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  船上神社
Romanized Reading: Funagami Jinja
English Translation: Shrine of the Ship
Size: Tiny side shrine of Kikkou Jinja
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 18-Sep-2018
Location: Yodoe-Nakama
Address: 642 Yodoecho Nakama, Yonago, Tottori 689-3424
Coordinates: 35.44446,133.4033865

A side shrine of Kikkou Jinja (亀甲神社 "Tortoise Shell Shrine") that has two small stone foxes watching over it. This one is not clearly associated with any particular deity, but it might be implicitly related to Funadama-no-Kami (船玉神 "Ship Gem God"), guardian deity of ships and sailors, who is said to reside on ships. Note that this shrine also features a little stone ship to give this theory some footing. Then again, it might very well just be dedicated to a local minor Kami, which is actually what a lot of shrines are about.

 

240 ~ Nameless Shrine

 

Japanese Name:  ?
Romanized Reading: ?
English Translation: ?
Size: Tiny side shrine of Kichijouin
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 18-Sep-2018
Location: Yodoe
Address: 946 Yodoechō Yodoe, Yonago-shi, Tottori-ken 689-3402
Coordinates: 35.461689,133.4299403

The first of two fox shrines that I should find on today's ride. This one is a side shrine of Kichijouin (吉祥院 "Lucky Omen Temple") - a Buddhist temple - and features a pair of slightly weathered stone foxes to watch over it, which probably makes this an Inari shrine.
 

239 ~ Nameless Shrine (Railroad XIng)

 

Japanese Name:  ?
Romanized Reading: ?
English Translation: ?
Size: Tiny side shrine of Hiyoshi Jinja
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 30
First Visit: 15-Sep-2018
Location: Yonago
Address: 710-2 Yodoechō Nishibara, Yonago-shi, Tottori-ken 689-3403
Coordinates: 35.4502063,133.4183285

The only fox shrine that I should find on my short ride on this day, this one is nonetheless special. Not because of the fox shrine itself, for once, though, but rather because of the main shrine. This one is a side shrine of Hiyoshi Jinja (日吉神社 "Lucky Day Shrine"), which is remarkable because the Sanin Main Line runs straight through the shrine grounds, so this shrine actually features a level crossing.

Anyway, this foxy side shrine features a pair of life-sized stone foxes, along with 28 tiny porcelain foxes to watch over it.

238 ~ Tounai Inari Jinja (Fox Carvings)

 

Japanese Name:  藤内稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Tounai Inari Jinja
English Translation: Wisteria Home Inari Shrine
Size: Small
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 22
First Visit: 13-Sep-2018
Location: Many
Address: Yonago, Tottori 683-0007, Japan
Coordinates: 35.4193235,133.3631913

A small fox shrine on a forested hillside on the west bank of Hinogawa (日野川 "Day Field River"). In addition to a few stone foxes and several dozen tiny porcelain foxes, there's also a lantern with a fox motif here, as well as a keystone with a pair of stone foxes engraved into it. This should also be the final fox shrine that I should find on this busy day, but by far not the last one in this area
 

237 ~ Nameless Shrine

Japanese Name:  ?
Romanized Reading: ?
English Translation: ?
Size: Tiny side shrine of Katsuta Jinja
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 22
First Visit: 13-Sep-2018
Location: Yonago
Address: 〒683-0052 Tottori, Yonago, Bakuromachi, 2 Chome−１０
Coordinates: 35.4322623,133.3415363

Another foxy side shrine of Katsuta Jinja, this one is located right next to the previous Inari shrine. This one does not have an official name as far as I can tell, but it's probably also an Inari shrine, what with there being 20 tiny porcelain foxes, as well as a pair of tiny stone foxes here.

236 ~ Inari Jinja

 

 

Japanese Name:  稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Inari Jinja
English Translation: Inari Shrine
Size: Small side shrine of Katsuta Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: Many
First Visit: 13-Sep-2018
Location: Yonago
Address: 〒683-0052 Tottori, Yonago, Bakuromachi, 2 Chome−１０
Coordinates: 35.4322623,133.3415363

Aaand, we're back in the Tottori prefecture again. This is a side shrine located in the back of the grounds of the big Katsuta Jinja (勝田神社 "Victory Field Shrine"), which is located just north of the Yonago station in the fork between the Sanin Main Line and the Sakai Line heading out to Sakaiminato. Four life-sized stone foxes - two of which feature Shimenawa-collars - sit watch in front of this shrine, and another four dozen or so porcelain foxes ranging from small to tiny in size are clustered around the heart of the shrine.