Saturday, April 5, 2025

353 ~ Fushimi Inari (Car Blessing)


Japanese Name: 伏見稲荷
Romanized Reading: Fushimi Inari
English Translation: Prostrated Hopes Inari
Size: Small Side Shrine of Okayama Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 20-Dec-2018
Location: Okayama
Address: 2-33 Ishizekicho, Kita Ward, Okayama, 700-0813
Coordinates
: 34.66807,133.93154

A vulpine side shrine of Okayama Jinja (岡山神社 "Hill Mountain Shrine"). Two life sized stone foxes watch over this shrine.

Incidentally, I also saw someone getting a blessing for his new car here, in front of Okayama Jinja. There's a driveway so you can drive right up to the shrine from the nearby road, so maybe this is a specialty of this shrine.

Friday, April 4, 2025

352 ~ Shrine inside Kaminochou​ Kaikan (Fox Lanterns)

 

Japanese Name: ?
Romanized Reading: ?
English Translation: ?
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 2 (Lanterns)
First Visit: 20-Dec-2018
Location: Okayama
Address: 9-39 Tenjincho, Kita Ward, Okayama, 700-0814
Coordinates
: 34.6663,133.9298

Located right next to the approach to the previous shrine, there's a building containing the Kaminochou Kaikan (上之町會館 "Upper Town Art Gallery"). At the bottom of the staircase, there's this tiny shrine, which is how I spotted it in passing. This one features now fox statues, but has two fox lanterns.
 

Thursday, April 3, 2025

351 ~ Jinkurou Inari (Komainu & Foxes)

 

Japanese Name: 甚九郎稲荷
Romanized Reading: Jinkurou Inari
English Translation: Great Nine Sons Inari
Size: Medium
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 3
First Visit: 20-Dec-2018
Location: Okayama
Address: 9-41 Tenjincho, Kita Ward, Okayama, 700-0814
Coordinates
: 34.66662,133.92992

This fox shrine is unusual in that it features both Komainu and foxes as its guardians. Normally, it's either one or the other. But as it is, a pair of Komainu sit watch at the outside gates, then there's one lone, life sized stone fox to the right of the approach to the shrine, and then another two just outside the shrine building.
 

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

350 ~ Joukou Inari & Tomiyoshi Inari (Fox Lanterns)

 

Japanese Names: 浄光稲荷, 富吉稲荷
Romanized Readings: Joukou Inari, Tomiyoshi Inari
English Translations: Pure Light Inari, Wealth and Luck Inari
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 4 (+2 on Lanterns)
First Visit: 20-Dec-2018
Location: Okayama
Address: 1-7 Banzanchō, Kita Ward, Okayama, 700-0818
Coordinates
: 34.66623,133.92667

A tiny fox shrine that I found in a backyard. On Google Maps, the whole block is a big construction site now, so this one might no longer be here. Then again, sometimes shrines are relocated or rebuilt in the wake of construction, so it might still be around.

Anyway, at the time of my visiting this one featured four tiny porcelain foxes, as well as two fox lanterns, which is the first time I saw those.
 

353 ~ Fushimi Inari (Car Blessing)

Japanese Name : 伏見稲荷 Romanized Reading : Fushimi Inari English Translation : Prostrated Hopes Inari Size : Small Side Shrine of Okayama Jinj...