Great Construction

The Meaning of Inari

     Of all the spirits and deities enshrined throughout each region of Japan there is probably no greater number than those of Inari spirits. Therefore, knowing about the origins of Inari spirits should be of some value.
     In the very beginnings of Japan, as the population gradually grew, increases in the production of the primary foodstuff, rice, became necessary, so Heavenly Shining Great August Deity (Amaterasu Ōmikami) directed Abundantly Receiving Bright Divinity (Toyouke Myōjin) to be in charge of producing the five cereals, and ears of rice were distributed throughout the nation. At that time, unlike the present, the nation lacked transportation facilities and Abundantly Receiving Bright Divinity assigned the task of the distribution of rice ears to foxes. The word for Inari is composed of two ideograms, first, the one for “rice plant,” and next, the one for “to carry.” One theory has it that according to the science of language spirit, the word comes from i nari (“eat make”), meaning “to make the seeds for food,” but this explanation is not very convincing. From the above sense, we see that the farmers in addition to appreciating the labors of the foxes, also prayed to them for abundant harvests. And thus, Inari Great Bright Divinity (Inari Daimyōjin) was enshrined. The prayer tablets from Inari shrines that often show a goddess riding a fox which is holding an ear of rice in its mouth reflect this history.
     However, as the centuries passed, Inari became the object of prayers for prosperity in business and success in other matters, and kept evolving until Inari finally became the object of worship for those in the red light districts, the entertainment areas, behavior that completely ignores their original function. Therefore, Inari should be prayed to for nothing other than abundant harvests, and one should be careful about this because to do otherwise constitutes one kind of sin.

Hikari, Issue 19, July 23, 1949
    translated by cynndd