Inari 稲荷

Inari was a Japanese agricultural deity, a kami of bountiful grain harvests (modern example of an #Inari festival#). Inari is not the official name of this kami, but rather a nickname that means "rice carrier" (from the original Japanese inenari). The birth certificate name is Ukanomitamanokami 宇迦之御霊之神. One *common portrayal of Inari* is as an old, bearded man carrying ripe rice stalks and a bowl or jar that resembles Yakushi's medicine jar. One interesting fact is that Ukanomitamanokami was originally a female deity in ancient times. So Inari underwent a sex change.

Ukanomitamanokami was thought to control the five grains, food in general, and silk worms, and in this capacity came to be addressed "O-inari-sama," the "O-" and "-sama" parts being honorific expressions added to "Inari. There are about 32,000 #shrines to Inari# throughout Japan. Most are small #neighborhood shrines,# but three are especially large and prominent. There are also countless small Inari-related #alcoves# in houses, gardens, and construction sites. The official rites of the imperial court at certain times--rites of the new year, the tsukinami festival (rites performed for a large number of deities twice a year), and the niinamesai (imperial tasting of the first grains of the harvest)--were connected with Inari worship as well as other things.

Inari worship seems to have developed during the Heain period, and it was closely associated with Shingon Buddhism Yamaori explains:

The image of the Inari god seen in the Inari engi 稲荷縁起 and other documents is generally that of an old man. Depictions show the god with white whiskers, carrying sheaves of rice, and accompanied by two women. In addition, a cooperative relationship between the Inari god and Kūkai is related. When Kūkai built Tōji 東寺 temple, legend states that he sued the cedar trees of Fushimi Inari mountain. In old versions of the engi or legends on the origins of the shrine, it is recorded that Kūkai and the Inari god met at Tanabe 田辺 in Kii 紀伊 . . . At that time, the Inari god had the form of an old man. Kūkai, declaring that he would soon build Tōji temple in the capital, invited the god there. When the temple was completed, the Inari god visited it. Exchanging encouragement, Kūkai wished for the prosperity of Shinto and the Inari god wished for the growth of esoteric Buddhism; their relations were very close. In this way, in the early period, faith in Inari and faith in esoteric Buddhism were deeply intertwined. During the movement to separate Shinto and Buddhism [ca.1868-1872], however, they came to be considered completely distinct and that perspective has continued down to the present. Their history has been forgotten. (Yamaori Tetsuo, Wandering Spirits and Temporary Corpses: Studies in the History of Japanese Religious Tradition, Dennis Hirota, ed., trans. [Kyoto: International Research Center for Japanese Studies, 2004], p. 397.)

Of course, as we have seen in earlier material, nearly the entire history of the interrelationship between Buddhism and native religion was "forgotten" (actively erased in may cases) during modern times.

Returning to the topic of Inari himself, why are small Inari shrines now commonly found at construction sites? Because Inari underwent a transformation (as is so common among Japanese kami). During the late middle ages, and especially during the Tokugawa period, Inari became increasingly popular among merchants and craftspeople, including members of the construction trades. And Inari expanded its function to include presiding over household prosperity generally. So now Inari presides over and enhances farms, businesses, construction sites, and homes.

Perhaps Inari's transformative ability is connected in some way with the fox, a shape-shifting trickster animal throughout East Asia. Although not originally associated with this animal, the fox connection developed early in the evolution of this deity. The original connection seems to be an accident of name coincidence. Ukanomitamanokami actually has several alternative names (or alternative forms), one of which was Miketsukami (of which "Mi" is an honorific and "kami" simply means deity, leaving "ketsu" as the main part of the name). "Ketsu" is an old pronunciation of what today is kitsune 狐, the ordinary way to say "fox." In ancient times, there was often little consistency in the use of Chinese characters to write the names of local deities. Because of the "ketsu" element in the name, some writers began using the character 狐 (ketsu then; kitsune now) to write Miketsukami. This linguistic coincidence was the origin of the fox association, which was reinforced by Shingon Buddhism. We have seen that Emperor Go-Daigo performed esoteric Shingon rites to the deity Dakini (ultimately a manifestation of Vairocana via Monju). Recall that Dakini often rode a fox. In short, what happened in Japan was that Dakini and Inari merged (via the honji-suijaku process), and the fox became Inari's messenger. Inari is therefore sometimes portrayed in a *Dakini-like form.* The transformation also turned Dakini (feared as a malevolent deity that would devour people's hearts) into a mild-mannered symbol of prosperity.

There are two other iconographic points about Inari. First, he sometimes appears with a serpent's head and human body. Also, in addition to the fox, another symbol of Inari is the *red torii.* Furthermore, the color red is closely associated with Inari, and #many shrines to him# feature that color prominently.

There is a story involving the great warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) and the main Inari shrine in Kyōto (the Inari Taisha). His mother, Ōmandokoro, had become seriously ill. The text of a prayer that Hideyoshi offered at the Inari Taisha for his mother’s recovery reveals much about his personality: “Now Lady Ōmandokoro has contracted an illness and I pray that you effect her recovery. If she recovers, I will grant this shrine an income of 10,000 koku of rice. Even three years more of life would be enough, so won’t you please extend it? If three years is not reasonable, how about just two? If two years is not reasonable then even thirty days would be fine.” For one thing, this prayer affords a glimpse at Hideyoshi's deep-rooted insecurity. It also illustrates the one function of the Inari deity in late medieval times: curing illness.

By the way, Ōmandokoro recovered, but Hideyoshi acted as though he had forgotten about the 10,000 koku promise. Hideyoshi was the kind of guy who could try to trick the deities without any remorse. It is the same attitude that assisted him in conquering his many political and military opponents. However, he may not have made out so well in this case because very soon thereafter, Ōmandokoro suddenly died. The second time around he made no supplication at the Inari Taisha or anywhere else. Perhaps Hideyoshi knew that his credibility was no good.