610 ~ Gensho Inari Daimyoujin

 

Japanese Name: 源正稲荷大明神
Romanized Reading: Gensho Inari Daimyoujin
English Translation: Original Justice Inari Great Radiant Deity
Size: Small
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 12-Sep-2023  
Location: Kyoto-Nakagyo
Address: 〒604-0034 Kyoto, Nakagyo Ward, Shimomatsuyacho, 721
Coordinates: 34.699447, 135.83545

We're back in Kyoto. Of course I already revisited Fushimi Inari Taisha, but didn't find any fox shrines there that I could identify as new with certainty.

This is the first fox shrine that I'm sure I haven't visited before. It is located next to Nijou castle, which I visited my friends, and is actually really well hidden: When I visited it, it was at the end of a long walkway next to a parking lot. Today, Google image data shows that it is hidden at the end of a narrow alley between two houses. So keep your eyes peeled if you want to find it.

Inside, in the nice cool darkness of this little shrine sits a pair of tiny porcelain foxes.
 

609 ~ Obata Mokuzai-no Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name: 小畑木材の稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Obata Mokuzai-no Inari Jinja
English Translation: Inari Shrine of Small Field Lumber
Size: Tiny
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 11-Sep-2023  
Location: Nara
Address: 164-9 Hannyajicho, Nara, 630-8102
Coordinates: 34.699447, 135.83545

A tiny fox shrine standing on the grounds of a local lumber business named Obata Mokuzai (hence the name of the shrine). A pair of tiny porcelain foxes watches over this one. This is also already the last fox shrine that I should find on my first day back in Japan.
 

TANUKI 3 ~ Saifukuji

 

Japanese Name: 西福寺
Romanized Reading: Saifukuji
English Translation: West Fortune Temple
Size: Medium
Tanuki Count: 9
First Visit: 11-Sep-2023  
Location: Nara
Address: 2403 Narazakacho, Nara, 630-8104
Coordinates: 34.70418,135.83439

A Buddhist temple that features a lot of Tanuki statues to serve as its guardians, including a rare female Tanuki with pronounced breasts and a clover covering her crotch at the left side of the gate. The others are all very visibly male.

608 ~ Shirotatsu Ookami, Asahi Ookami, Yakuo Daimyoujin, Okane Daimyoujin, Matsuno Ookami, Matsumizu Daimyoujin (and more)

 

Japanese Names: 白瀧大神, 朝日大神, 薬王大明神, お金大明神, 松野大神, 松水大明神++
Romanized Readings: Shirotatsu Ookami, Asahi Ookami, Yakuo Daimyoujin, Okane Daimyoujin, Matsuno Ookami, Matsumizu Daimyoujin++
English Translations: White Dragon Great Deity, Morning Sun Great Deity, Medicine King Great Radiant Deity, Money Great Radiant Deity, Pine Field Great Deity, Pine Water Great Radiant Deity++
Size: Tiny Side Shrine of Kurokamiyama Inari Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 11-Sep-2023  
Location: Nara
Address: Narazakacho, Nara, 630-8104
Coordinates: 34.7017,135.8258

A tiny side shrine of Kurokamiyama Inari Jinja, featuring lots of Iwakura. And not just kinda-a-lot but a LOT-lot. This shrine is dedicated to at least two dozen different deities! Some of the names are hard to decipher, since they use Kanji that I can't recognize, but I still could have added more to the list of names. But I'll draw the line at half a dozen unless someone specifically commissions me to record them all.

Watching over all these are a pair of life-sized stone foxes. The one on the left holds a scroll, while the one on the right holds and orb. There's also a little white porcelain twin-snake here.
 

607 ~ Kurokamiyama Inari Jinja

Japanese Name: 黒髪山稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Kurokamiyama Inari Jinja
English Translation: Black Hair Mountain Inari Shrine
Size: Small
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 12
First Visit: 11-Sep-2023  
Location: Nara
Address: Narazakacho, Nara, 630-8104
Coordinates: 34.70177,135.82589

Located at the outskirts of Nara, this find is the result of my friends and me taking a bit more adventurous path, that would later take us across the nearby Kurokami Bridge. 

A pair of life sized stone foxes reside within, the left one of which has a kit, thus bringing the vixen side count to 21:44. They are attended by nine small-to-tiny porcelain foxes .

606 ~ Ota Daimyojin

 

Japanese Name: 太田大明神
Romanized Reading: Ota Daimyojin
English Translation: Thick Field Great Radiant Deity
Size: Small
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 18
First Visit: 11-Sep-2023  
Location: Nara
Address: 11-46 Shibatsujicho, Nara, 630-8114
Coordinates: 34.68653,135.82161

The first fox shrine that I should find after my return to Japan in 2023. It's a rainy day, but that doesn't stop me from dragging my friends to whom I'm playing tour guide this time around on a hunt for fox shrines and geocaches alike.

This one features a pair of life-sized caged stone foxes, along with (at least) 16 tiny porcelain foxes. A good start into my second round of fox shrine finding!

Also, starting with this post, I'm uploading the full-sized photos, so feel free to click on them for more detail!