Some folk stories, however, portray the kitsune as tricksters and wicked animals. These animals are believed to help protect the rice crops and help people in general. This error should be avoided, for the fox is merely Inari’s messenger and servant. However, many people mistake the kitsune for the actual kami. The fox (kitsune in Japanese) is closely associated to Inari. (For a fuller description of this myth, see Tsukiyomi.) According to some accounts, Uke-mochi was also said to have been married to Inari before she was killed. Her dead body then produced all the foods and animals that are related to agriculture. ![]() (This may have symbolized the eternal recycling of food from one life form to another.) In any case, Tsukiyomi apparently did not appreciate the gesture, for he killed Uke instantly. ![]() According to a myth recorded in the Nihongoki, Uke vomited rice and fish to give to Tsukiyomi, the Moon Kami, at a banquet. On the other hand, many scholars believe that Toyokawa and Inari have always been one and the same.Īnother kami identified with Inari is Uke-mochi, the Shinto goddess of food. Interestingly, the linkage between Toyokawa and Inari-Dakiniten may have begun on account of the foxes associated separately with each of these food goddesses. The fall festival at Toyokawa Inari shrine would involve Dakiniten (Smyers 7). This Dakini later merged in the popular imagination of Japan with the fox-benefactress who brought food to all the people. The name “Dakiniten” is derived from the Sanskrit work “dakini,” meaning a “space-goer” or “celestial goddess.” It refers to one of the legendary incarnations in which the Buddha appeared (prior to being born as Shakyamuni), when he lived as a bodhisattva and served unselfishly to promote the enlightenment of others. While this form is more common, another version, named Dakiniten, is the one worshiped as the primary deity. One version is the Chinjugami, the temple protector. There are two Buddhist versions of Inari as well. Yet more kami once linked with Inari were Ninigi no Mikoto, Susano-O no Mikoto, and both Izanami and Izanagi no Mikoto. Among the kami that Inari has been associated with are Miketsu Okami, Ogetsu Hime no Kami, Ukanomitama no Kami, Toyouke Hime no Kami, and Toyouke no Kami. In earlier times, Inari was thought of as being three (or sometimes five) kami. During the Feast of the Bellows, where fires are lit, Inari is included among the deities honored, together with Hettsui-no-Kami indeed, the two are said to be one and the same. First is Hettsui-no-Kami, the Goddess of the Kitchen Range. The kami directly identified with Inari are quite numerous. ![]() Usually when one refers to Inari the two general images are of an old man sitting on a pile of rice with two foxes beside him, or of a beautiful fox-woman. ![]() Inari does not have one main image or gender, but rather has many associated images and is identified with other kami as well. Both events are celebrated in popular folk festivals. One of the main myths concerning Inari tells of this kami coming down a mountain every spring when it is planting season and ascending back up the mountain after the harvest for the winter. Primarily, however, Inari is associated with agriculture, protecting rice fields and giving the farmers an abundant harvest every year. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of sword smiths and merchants. He (or she) is the god of rice and is related with general prosperity. Inari is one of the most well known kami in popular folk Shinto.
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