483 ~ Ichinomine Kamisha Cluster (Inariyama Peak)

 

Japanese Name: 一ノ峰上社
Romanized Reading: Ichinomine Kamisha
English Translation: First Peak Top Shrine
Cluster Size: Big
Deity: Inari
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 15 Inariyamakanyuchi, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0804
Coordinates: 34.9671,135.7855

This is it. The topmost shrine of Inariyama, located a t the very peak at 233m above sea level. Not all that high, I know, but still the peak of the holy mountain. I took a very roundabout way to get here, but I am rewarded with a multitude of fox shrines. There's easily a hundred of them clustered side by side in concentric rings along terraces around the summit.

I'm now also back at the Torii road, which actually goes from the foot of the mountain all the way to the top, and then back another way to a crossroads, forming a noose of sorts. And there's also a store up here that sells these little popup Torii that you can place at your favorite shrine. I can actually watch people doing that right there and then.

482 ~ Suehiro-no-Taki Cluster

 

Japanese Name: 末廣大神
Romanized Reading: Suehiro Ookami
English Translation: Tip Wide Great Deity
Cluster Size: Medium
Deity: ?
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 49 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamachō, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9660,135.7878

Despite the fact that I must have passed this cluster already on my way up to Ooiwa Ookami, I apparently only really noticed it on my way back down. Or maybe, I chose to ignore it on the first pass on account of my camera just having died. Anyway, this is another of those cascade clusters, named 末広の滝 (Suehiro-no-Taki = "Tip Wide Cascade"). There's also one more further up the valley called 岩龍ノ瀧 (Iwaryuu-no-Taki = "Boulder Dragon Cascade"), but I haven't been to that one.
 

 

481 ~ Ooiwa Ookami Cluster

 

Japanese Name: 大岩大神
Romanized Reading: Ooiwa Ookami
English Translation: Great Boulder Great Deity
Cluster Size: Small
Deity: ?
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: Japan, 〒612-0813 Kyoto, Fushimi Ward, Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho
Coordinates: 34.9661,135.7887

The easternmost fox shrine cluster of Fushimi Inari that I visited. Past here, the pat was closed on account of the aftermath of Typhoon Jebi, which struck here half a year ago. Apparently, this is one of the more remote paths that has not been repaired yet.

Anyway, this is a pretty small fox shrine cluster with not all that many foxes around. By local standards, at least. It still has way more foxes than most other shrines.
 

480 ~ Mitsurugi-no-Taki (Camera battery died)

 

Japanese Name: 御劔ノ瀧
Romanized Reading: Mitsurugi-no-Taki
English Translation: Honorable Sword Cascade
Size: Tiny
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 44 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9654,135.7877

The 118th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the fourth one within the Mitsurugi-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

I used to think there couldn't be such a thing as too much fox shrines. However, that is clearly not true for my camera's battery, which died only three hours into this fox shrine orgy.

So, what now? I'm barely half around the mountain, and there's surely still thousands of fox shrines to find. I still have my phone, but the battery life of that is also limited. And even if it wasn't, I'm reasonably sure that I don't have enough space for all the pictures I would take on there.

Thus, I shift approaches from here on out. Instead of taking pictures of individual shrines, I instead just take one or a few pictures for each cluster, in the understanding that each of them likely contains dozens of fox shrines.

So, from here on out, our pace is going to accelerate a bit (but we're still gonna stay in Kyoto for the rest of the year).

479 ~ ?nan Daimyoujin

Japanese Name: ？男大明神
Romanized Reading: ?nan Daimyoujin
English Translation: ? Man Great Radiant Deity
Size: Tiny
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 44 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9654,135.7877

The 117th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the third one within the Mitsurugi-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

This one is located directly to the right of the previous one, and it looks very old, with moss covering it all over.

The puzzle of its name might be related to that. It's not that I can't make out the first character. It's that no such kanji exists (anymore). It's a 里 with a 亠 on top, kinda like in 裏, but without the lower part. As if it is the missing link between them. If it was 里男, then it would read "Satoo" and mean "Village Man". I consider that to be its most likely name, but I really can't be sure. Have a close-up look here if you like:

 

478 ~ Sanrin Ookami, Ebisu Ookami, Shironaga Ookami (and more)

Japanese Names: 三輪大神, 恵比須大神, 白長大神++
Romanized Readings: Sanrin Ookami, Ebisu Ookami, Shironaga Ookami++
English Translations: Three Rings Great Deity, Ebisu Great Deity, White Long Great Deity++
Size: Tiny
Deity: Ebisu
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 44 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9654,135.7877

The 116th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the second one within the Mitsurugi-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

This shrine is dedicated to Ebisu, god of fishing, and one of the Shijifukujin. 

It also has more names. I wasn't able to decipher them, but if you want to try, here you go! You can also click on the very top image to enlarge it, because some of the names are better legible on that one (still can't figure out what Kanji those are supposed to be though...)

 

 

477 ~ Mitsurugi Ookami, Mitsuyoshi Ookami, Fujiyoshi Ookami (Mitsurug-no-Taki Cluster Start)

 

Japanese Names: 御劔大神, 三芳大神, 藤芳大神
Romanized Readings: Mitsurugi Ookami, Mitsuyoshi Ookami, Fujiyoshi Ookami
English Translations: Honorable Sword Great Deity, Three Perfumes Great Deity, Wisteria Perfume Great Deity
Size: Tiny
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Mitsurugi-no-Taki
Address: 44 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9654,135.7877

The 115th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the first one within the Mitsurugi-no-Taki (御劔ノ瀧 "Honorable Sword Cascade") cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

476 ~ Kasha Ookami, Komeko Ookami, Kinkou Ookami

 

Japanese Names: 火車大神, 米子大神, 金光大神
Romanized Readings: Kasha Ookami, Komeko Ookami, Kinkou Ookami
English Translations: Fiery Chariot Great Deity, Rice Child Great Deity, Golden Light Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 114th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the ninth and last one within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes. I assume that the left one is holding a scroll, and the right one an orb, but I only have the one picture of this shrine, and I can't see the foxes' heads on it, so I can't be sure.

 

475 ~ Takayama Ookami, Shiragiku Ookami, Hakushin Ookami (and more)

 

Japanese Names: 高山大神, 白菊大神, 白心大神++
Romanized Readings: Takayama Ookami, Shiragiku Ookami, Hakushin Ookami++
English Translations: Tall Mountain Great Deity, White Chrysanthemum Great Deity, White Heart Great Deity++
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 113th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the eight within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

It has two more names, and while this time around I can see the lines engraved into the Iwakura clearly, I still can't figure out which Kanji they belong to. They are the names on the left and right Iwakura respectively. You can click on the image at the top for a close up, if you want to try to decipher them.

 

474 ~ Hachikou Ryuuou, Shiragiku Ookami, Kumataka Ookami

 

Japanese Names: 八高龍王, 白菊大神, 熊鷹大神
Romanized Readings: Hachikou Ryuuou, Shiragiku Ookami, Kumataka Ookami
English Translations: Eight Tall Dragon Kings, White Chrysanthemum Great Deity, Hawk-Eagle Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi, inside Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 112th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the seventh within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

473 ~ Shirakami Ookami, Shiratake Ookami, Wakamatsu Ookami, Kumataka Ookami

 

Japanese Names: 白髪大神, 白武大神, 若枩大神, 熊高大神
Romanized Readings: Shirakami Ookami, Shiratake Ookami, Wakamatsu Ookami, Kumataka Ookami
English Translations: White Hair Great Deity, White Warrior Great Deity, Young Pine Great Deity, Bear Height Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 111th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the sixth within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

 

472 ~ Shiragiku Ookami (again)

 

Japanese Name: 白菊大神
Romanized Reading: Shiragiku Ookami
English Translation: White Chrysanthemum Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 110th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the fifth within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. This one is located directly to the right of the previous one, and is in fact inside of the "outer gate" with the two slender foxes. It has its own pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

 

471 ~ Shiragiku Ookami

 

Japanese Name: 白菊大神
Romanized Reading: Shiragiku Ookami
English Translation: White Chrysanthemum Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 4
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 109th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the fourth within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. Two pairs of life-sized stone foxes watch over this one, which makes this the first shrine with more than two foxes in a while. The outer pair is more sleek and slender, with almost dragon-like necks, while the inner pair has more normal proportions. In both pairs, the left fox holds a scroll, and the right one holds an orb.

 

470 ~ Shironaga Ookami, Hakusei Ookami, Shirayoshi Ookami (and more)

 

Japanese Names: 白長大神, 白清大神, 白吉大神++
Romanized Readings: Shironaga Ookami, Hakusei Ookami, Shirayoshi Ookami++
English Translations: White Long Great Deity, White Pure Great Deity, White Luck Great Deity++
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 108th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the third within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. The usual pair of life-sized stone foxes watch over this one, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

This one has more names still, but I wasn't able to decipher all of them. However, I am at the very least able to discern one peculiar curiosity: All but one of them start with 白 (Shiro = "White"). If you want to try and decipher them, here's a closeup.

 

 

469 ~ Shiki Ookami

 

Japanese Name: 白姫大神
Romanized Reading: Shiki Ookami
English Translation: White Princess Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine in the Happyakuman Ookami cluster
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 107th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the second within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. The usual pair of life-sized stone foxes watch over this one, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

 

468 ~ Happyakuman Ookami (Cluster Start)

 

Japanese Name: 八百萬大神
Romanized Reading: Happyakuman Ookami
English Translation: Eight Million Great Gods
Size: Tiny
Deities: All
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9650,135.7875

The 106th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the first within the Happyakuman Ookami cluster. This cluster does not have any buildings, and is literally just there at the roadside between two of the "Cascade" clusters.

As for the deities that this one is dedicated to... I wrote "all", and I mean it. "Happyakuman" is a sort of magic number in Shinto worship, referring to the total number of Shinto deities. If you hear that number anywhere, it's a clear reference to Shinto. And here of course it's obvious.

Anyway, this one is watched over by the usual pair of life-sized stone foxes again, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb. These two foxes are also clearly the newest parts of this shrine.

467 ~ Shirofuku Ookami, Otohiko Taijin Mikoto, Takahiko Mikoto, Takakura Ookami, Yoshimori Ookami (Shiragiku-no-Taki end)

 

Japanese Names: 白福大神, 音彦大人命, 崇彦命, 高倉大神, 吉森大神
Romanized Readings: Shirofuku Ookami, Otohiko Taijin Mikoto, Takahiko Mikoto, Takakura Ookami, Yoshimori Ookami
English Translations: White Fortune Great Deity, Sound Lad Great Person Noble Spirit, Adored Lad Noble Spirit, High Warehouse Great Deity, Lucky Forest Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 105th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 22nd and last one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. This one is watched over by the usual pair of life-sized stone foxes again, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

466 ~ Tsurumatsu Inari Daimyoujin

 

Japanese Names: 鶴松稲荷大明神
Romanized Readings: Tsurumatsu Inari Daimyoujin
English Translations: Crane Pine Inari Great Radiant Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 104th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 21st one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. It is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes. But this time, both of them appear to be holding an orb.

465 ~ ?ki Ookami

 

Japanese Names: ？木大神
Romanized Readings: ?ki Ookami
English Translations: ? Tree Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 103rd vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 20th one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

Unfortunately, I did not manage to get a full photograph of the shrine name, so I don't know what the first Kanji is. 

This one is also remarkably similar to the previous shrine, which makes me believe they were erected as a pair for some reason. It is also located directly to the left of that shrine, to the point where the foundations are in direct contact with one another.

 

464 ~ Mitane Ookami, ?taki Ookami, Terukiyo Ookami

 

Japanese Names: 三種大神, ？瀧大神, 照清大神
Romanized Readings: Mitane Ookami, ?taki Ookami, Terukiyo Ookami
English Translations: Three Seeds Great Deity, ? Cascade Great Deity, Shining Purity Great Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 102nd vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 19th one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the topmost Kanji of the middle name, so the full name of this shrine will forever remain a mystery (unless someone goes there to check it out, that is).

 

463 ~ Rairyou Daimyoujin, Kenshi Daimyoujin

 

Japanese Names: 来了大明神, 権紫大明神
Romanized Readings: Rairyou Daimyoujin, Kenshi Daimyoujin
English Translations: Come Complete Great Radiant Deity, Authority Purple Great Radiant Deity
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 101st vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 18th one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

 

 

462 ~ Shiragiku Ookami, Hakuryuu Ookami, Suehiro Ookami, Ooiwa Ookami, Midori Ookami (and more)

 

Japanese Names: 白菊大神, 白龍大神, 末廣大神, 大岩大神, 妙登大神++
Romanized Readings: Shiragiku Ookami, Hakuryuu Ookami, Suehiro Ookami, Ooiwa Ookami, Midori Ookami++
English Translations: White Chrysanthemum Great Deity, White Dragon Great Deity, Tip Wide Great Deity, Great Boulder Great Deity, Exquisite Ascent Great Deity++
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

This is it. The 100th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and far from the last one. It is also the 17th one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of life-sized stone foxes, but this time around, it looks like they are both holding an orb.

Like with many shrines, this one, too, has more names. If you want to try and figure out more of them, here's a closeup.

 

 

461 ~ Shiragiku Ookami (and more)

 

Japanese Names: 白菊大神++
Romanized Readings: Shiragiku Ookami++
English Translations: White Chrysanthemum Great Deity++
Size: Tiny Side shrine of Shiragiku-no-Taki
Deity: ?
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 25-Dec-2018
Location: Kyoto-Fushimi
Address: 43 Fukakusa Gokurakuji Yamacho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-0813
Coordinates: 34.9644 135.7871

The 99th vulpine side shrine of Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the 16th one within the Shiragiku-no-Taki cluster. As usual, it is watched over by a pair of slightly life-sized stone foxes, with the left one holding a scroll, and the right one holding an orb.

I think it has two more names, but the names on the Iwakura are really hard to read. Here's a closeup if you want to try to decipher them.