稲荷の狐Inari foxes
Foxes are the messengers of Inari, the kami of rice and prosperity. Where you see a pair of stone foxes, you are almost certainly at an Inari shrine.
Meanings vary between shrines and people; present them as the common explanations, not as fixed rules.
How to recognise it
- Pointed ears, slim body, bushy tail
- Often a red bib
- Something in the mouth or under a paw
Look-alikes
- Komainu (guardian lion-dogs) — Komainu have curly manes and broad lion-like faces.
What's in the mouth?
- Key: Usually explained as the key to the rice storehouse
- Jewel: A wish-granting jewel
- Rice sheaf: A rich harvest
- Scroll: Wisdom or sacred teaching
Where to see it
Fushimi Inari TaishaNaritasan ParkKomyoin Inari ShrineNikko Futarasan Chugushi ShrineTakino’o Takatokusui-jinja ShrineChinjudoIzushi Castle Site and Arikoyama Inari ShrineHistory of Shusse Inari ShrineMaruyama Inari Shrine
撮Standing in front of one?Open the scanner and compare →
Sources
- Japan Travel: Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Karen A. Smyers, The Fox and the Jewel (Univ. of Hawai'i Press, 1999)