Kitsune
Symbolizing both benevolence and malevolence, the fox is sometimes identified with the messenger of the kami Inari in Japanese mythology.
Statues of foxes are found in great numbers both inside and outside shrines dedicated to the rice and fertility god.
At the Toyokawa Inari Betsuin Temple in Tokyo, we saw hundreds of these kitsune fox statues bedecked in their bright red bibs (a sign of their divinity) with some holding a scroll in their mouth, symbolizing their roles as messengers of the gods. They were surrounded by complimentary red and white flags, Inari's traditional colours.
Built in 1828, many of its structures are Shinto, but this is a Buddhist temple of the Sōtō Zen sect.
© All rights reserved.
Kitsune
Symbolizing both benevolence and malevolence, the fox is sometimes identified with the messenger of the kami Inari in Japanese mythology.
Statues of foxes are found in great numbers both inside and outside shrines dedicated to the rice and fertility god.
At the Toyokawa Inari Betsuin Temple in Tokyo, we saw hundreds of these kitsune fox statues bedecked in their bright red bibs (a sign of their divinity) with some holding a scroll in their mouth, symbolizing their roles as messengers of the gods. They were surrounded by complimentary red and white flags, Inari's traditional colours.
Built in 1828, many of its structures are Shinto, but this is a Buddhist temple of the Sōtō Zen sect.
© All rights reserved.