INARI – Deity of Prosperity in JAPAN

Today we are going to talk a little about culture that is obviously mixed with Shintoism (Shinto) because it is part of the culture, the Japanese religion and specifically about a character that is “Inari”. (You can watch the video or continue reading below)

As a name it is a deity, but there is an animal that is represented with this deity and it is the fox. So whenever they hear Inari it is culturally closely related to the fox, the fox the animal, the Japanese fox, not the fox with the sword and the cape and the masks. So Inari as a deity represents prosperity, especially originally in agriculture, that talking about agriculture in Japan is always related to rice and tea.

As is to be expected, a deity that speaks of prosperity, especially in agriculture, since it was essentially everyone’s favorite. Everyone wanted Inari’s favors and well they represent him in a male version, in a female version and also an androgynous version. These are already human representations, that is, there is no single representation, normally Amateratsu, for example, the main Japanese deity in Shintoism is always represented as a woman, instead Isanagi, Isanami depends, one is a man and the other is a woman. But in the case of Inari it is everything. Even apart, for example, the fox is attributed through the powers that Inari gives him the ability to visually transform into a human being, man or woman indifferently. He can deceive the human being by taking the form of a human and acting within our society influencing our society etc. so at the same time that it is highly respected, it is also very loved, and sometimes it is very feared because the fox can deceive us.

The origin of Inari is a bit confusing, as you know, there are no books in Shintoism, there are no sacred books, everything is an oral tradition eventually written but not as a book but as stories, as traditions, as folklore, etc. So there is no book, there is no very clear reference to the origin of Inari, we do not know in a few words who her parents were, her brothers, her grandparents, her children, her grandchildren if she is not a somewhat “standalone” deity, independent , lonely. Well, it’s not that he didn’t have a family at all, what happens is that it’s rather not known why inari came, obviously like many things from China, through Buddhism before the year 1000 by the year 700 after Christ and well within how inari was accommodated within what was already in shintoism because it was said that it was like taking over from “Ukemochi” who was already a deity before and Inari took his place and inherited his powers because this deity died in his mythology you know and then Inari was the successor. Because they also do not find anything from Inari sources and in Japanese folklore, too, its origin is not very clear. It is that some say that Ukemochi was his wife, others say that it was his mother, others say that it was the same person, others say that it had nothing to do with it, so in this sense mythology is absolutely vague, there is no way of knowing.

Paradoxically, for being one of the most detached deities from the Shinto Olympus, it is the one with the most temples, the most sanctuaries in Japan, it is the most adored deity. Well, what we do know is the name where Inari comes from, more or less, and it comes from the word or phrase “Ine Nari” (Ine ni naru), “ine” is the rice that came out, it’s the spike and that It is the “ine” because the grain of rice is already “kome” and cooked it is “gohan” so it has three parts. It has three essences. So “Ine ni naru” means that it became “ine”. “Ni naru” is to return or become the spike. Then it became an ear, they also called it “Inari Oogami” which is the great god Inari, the great god Inari, and well, as you can see, it has continued to have a relationship with rice ever since. In many places, on many roads, in front of many rice fields, you will find small temples, small shrines dedicated to Inari. Even one of the temples or shrines sorry, I always say temples but they are the most important shrines in Japan, it is in Kyoto and it is dedicated to Inari and it is “Fushimi Inari”, it is in all the literature, in all the folklore, in all the traditions , in figurines, in characters from comics or manga, anime, videogames or children’s stories, there is a fascination for inari.

In food? “Inarizushi” (a type of sushi) and this is also because essentially, although it was always born related to agriculture and continues to have a very strong relationship with agriculture, obviously its strength is prosperity, so it has often become the pattern of large projects, starting with the same governments, different governments, different shogunates, the emperor, etc. it was prosperity for example when Meiji opened its doors, Emperor Meiji opens the doors of Japan to foreigners to foreign influence era was the motto was through Inari, for industry, for technology, science, then prosperity , achieve something better and etc. Something that happened a lot during all the different eras in Japan, Inari was adopting the pattern of what at that time was historically very important to the Japanese and what they wanted in practical prosperity. That’s right, for example in the Edo period blacksmiths were very important because they worked weapons for the samurai so Inari was their patron. That’s right, in the armor, the weapons were the important thing so it is now the pattern of the blacksmiths.

At another time, for example, Inari also became the patron saint of fishermen, but because the port-cities began to flourish much more and everything obviously wanted to get better and better catches, and then Inari became the patron saint of fishermen. That’s right, and rice at one point was changed to gold as currency, and then the people who worked with coins, that is, metals, also became their patron. Where prosperity was sought was Inari, so she was a very convenient deity as we said a moment ago, in the industry currently even some cosmetic companies have their logo as their mascot, it is something very positivist in that sense, I think that everything the world wants something, a protection or an idea that it will bring you prosperity and this was simply a representation in Inari beyond a true belief that there was something, it was simply that rabbit’s foot. This is that little bit of luck that you normally ask for or want to have.

The figure of Inari is so much a part of Japanese culture that there is even a town called Zao Kitsune Mura (宮城蔵王キツネ村) and it has been taken to the movies and anime represented in its human form. If you want to know everything related to these details, our friends from Alternative Japan tell you about it in their article about Kitsune and other particularities here . It is a site that we highly recommend, especially if you want to take a trip to Japan, since they organize and give guidelines so that your trip is the best and according to your budget.

There are many deities in many mythologies, in many parts of the world throughout history that always have different gods such as rain, earth, life, death, even parties or wine, etc. but I think it’s curious because there isn’t so much directly a god that is not agriculture as such, nothing else but prosperity. Because in this case it is the prosperity of agriculture, that all the rice grows well, that all the tea grows well and that it is something that heals or that it is something good for your body, that is, when it enters you it is something well. As the deities are the identity of agriculture and they gave him a rite, they gave him an offering so that the harvest was good a year ago, but in this case it is not so much this but that he is in charge of ensuring that there is prosperity, this is a little different from how other mythologies were handled where perhaps the Romans or the Greeks had to give an offering so that there would be good agriculture next year or this year whatever. Here it is the other way around, it is rather a thank you, Inari is always looking to bring prosperity and since he brought it and it is not because he brought it but as he is always looking to bring us prosperity we thank him for the prosperity that he brings us all the time time, then it is not so much that this deity you have to ask for prosperity, but this deity its mission is prosperity. That’s how it is and as you always say, the search probably always exists, so what one has to do is thank.

Making shrines to Inari is a search, it is a way of saying I invite you to come here, this is your house and the bigger your house, the more beautiful your house is, the more I offer you to eat, the more beautiful I talk to you. Well, it makes you want to visit me more and since when you come you bring prosperity, it will be there. He leaves you his best gift. It leaves you impregnated with Inari. Hey it looks like lotion. Yes, really, just like the Ax scent from the commercials, like your Inari scent, you smell like a fox. It sounds a bit strange… we better leave it in perfume. And well, do you know an animal that is attributed to prosperity in other cultures, in other countries or a deity that has been attributed to prosperity as such? Do you find it interesting? Did you already know this about Inari or is it absolutely new?