山田維史の遊卵画廊

■(14)英語訳論文『狐信仰とそのイコノグラフィー』

by Tadami Yamada

　山田維史（論文）『狐信仰とそのイコノグラフィー』　日本語初出『AZ』誌 1994年（新人物往来社）

Among the many animal worships in Japan, fox worship is one of the most representative. It is by no means a thing of the past, and it is not uncommon to see foxes enshrined as gods of good fortune inside or on the rooftops of intelligent buildings in modern cities (Figure 1). The large torii gate of Anamori Inari Shrine stands, seemingly left behind, at the demolition site of the old terminal building at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. It has been attempted to be demolished many times in the past, but each time it was cancelled due to fears of a "curse." An article like this appears on the front page of a major newspaper (Asahi Shimbun). The ancient fox worship is rooted not only in the spiritual life of the Japanese people but also in the depths of their economic society, and continues to live on to this day.

In this article, I will provide an overview of fox worship and look at how it has been expressed in images. It is difficult to pinpoint the origins of why foxes became the object of worship. Nevertheless, you will learn how the ancients were adept at observing the ecology of foxes, and how they combined these ecology with human activities in a rich way, building up a sophisticated system like wovening a brocade of silk. On the other hand, we must also mention the harmful effects that have arisen from this belief, although we cannot go so far as to call it malicious.

(1) The Tale of the Fox Wife
The origins of fox worship in Japan can be traced back to the 19th volume of the Nihon Shoki, the beginning of Emperor Kinmei's chapter on Heavenly Opening Hironiwa (Emperor Kinmei), an account of a dream of the Emperor's childhood. When the Emperor was young, he was told in a dream that if he could find and summon a man named Hatano Otsuchi and treat him with kindness, he would surely be able to ascend to the throne in the future. Hatano Otsuchi was found in the village of Fukakusa in Yamashiro Province, and the prophecy from the dream was soon realized. There is no sign of a fox in this story. However, as will be described later, when we consider that the worshippers of the Inari Shrine were the Hata clan (a lost passage from the Yamashiro Province Topography), the image of Inari as a god of good fortune with miraculous powers of granting wishes is faintly hinted at.

The fox first appears clearly in the Nihon Koku Genpō Zen’aku Ryōiki (Nihon Ryōiki), Volume 2, in the section entitled "The Fate of the Man Who Married a Fox and Had Children With Her."

〈During the reign of Emperor Kinmei, a man from Ōno County, Mino Province, set out on a journey in search of a woman to take as his wife. He met a beautiful woman in a wide field. As the woman flirted with the man, she winked and asked him where he was going. "I'm out walking around looking for a good match," he replied. The man asked her if she would like to become his wife, and she agreed. He immediately took her home, copulated with her, and lived with her. After a while, the woman became pregnant and gave birth to a boy. By chance, the housewife's dog also gave birth to a puppy on December 15th. Whenever the puppy approached the housewife, it would fly into a rage, bark its teeth, and attack. The housewife was frightened and asked her husband to kill the dog, but her husband felt sorry for it and could not bring himself to do it. Around February or March, the housewife went into the mortar hut to give snacks to the women she had hired to pound the new year's rice, which had been prepared in advance.〉

　ー That is, the dog chased the housewife and barked, as if to bite her. Then, frightened and scared, she turned into a fox and climbed onto the cage. The head of the household saw the fox and said, "Because you and I had a child together, I will not forget you. You would come and sleep with me every day, so she would remember what he said and come and sleep ー

(Original text) ー即ち彼の犬家室を咋はむとして追ひて吠ゆ即ち驚きおぢ恐り野干と成りて籠の上に登りて居り家長見て言はく汝と我との中に子を相生めるが故に吾は忘れじ毎に来りて相寐よといひて故夫の語を誦えて来り寐きー

Since then, she would come and sleep with him, and so the name Kitsune (Came-Sleep) came about. One day, the wife came wearing a pink-dyed skirt, gracefully turned the skirt around and walked away. The man could not forget her appearance, and was so filled with longing that he composed a poem. (Poem omitted) They named the child they had together Kitsune. They also gave him the surname Kitsune no Atae. The child was strong and could run so fast that he was as fast as a bird. This is the ancestor of the famous Kitsune no Atae clan of Mino Province.〉

Although I have summarized it, I have read the whole text. If the oldest tale of a fox wife-cross-species marriage has some symbolic meaning beyond the common etymology of the Japanese name and the tale of the ancestor of a famous clan, then the story told there fulfills all the necessary and sufficient requirements to understand that hidden meaning. The monk Kyōkai of Yakushiji Temple in Nara wrote Nihon Ryōiki with a pedagogical purpose based on the principle of karma. In the preface, Kyōkai wrote that Buddhism was introduced to Japan during the reign of Emperor Kinmei. However, there is little Buddhist flavor in the story about the fox. There is only a faint hint of fox worship. The same story appears in Fusō Ryakuki and, directly, in the Kinmei-ki of Suikyō, which quotes the same book.

What I find interesting is that all three books state that the puppy was born on December 15th. The puppy barks at the wife until she reveals her true fox identity in February or March. The puppy must be at least one month old. This reminds me of the "Fox Hunt" held on January 15th of the lunar calendar in the Kinki, Keihan, and Chūgoku regions. The time when the puppy attacks and chases the fox wife and the time of the "Fox Hunt" are roughly the same. About one month before the "Fox Hunt", in the same region, there is an event called "Fox Enforcement", or also "Field Enforcement" or "Winter Enforcement", which is held in the middle of December of the lunar calendar. In order to save the pregnant fox from starvation in the bitter cold, offerings are made to the den and other places, and it is said to have originated from the Inari faith. Yūko Yoshino sees these two opposing folk events as an implementation of the theory of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

In the ancient Chinese philosophical thought of Yin and Yang and the five elements, all things in the universe are created by the harmony of the two energies of Yin and Yang, from which the five energies of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are born, and each of these energies circulates through the five elements of mutual generation and destruction. The principle of mutual generation is an infinite cycle of wood producing fire (wood produces fire, as is recited below), fire producing earth, earth producing metal, metal producing water, and water producing wood. The principle of destruction is an infinite cycle of wood defeating earth (wood overcomes earth, as is recited below), earth defeating water, water defeating fire, fire defeating metal, and metal defeating wood.

Regarding the relationship between Yin and Yang and the five elements and foxes, Yoshino points out the importance of earth energy in agricultural culture, and then says that "the yellow of the fox," "the virtue of earth symbolized by yellow," and "this virtue of earth is the expectation of a bounty of grain," in other words, the fox is nothing but a symbol of earth energy. Therefore, all of the "earth" in the five elements can be replaced with "fox." The 12th month of the lunar calendar, when the "Fox Enactment" takes place, is the doyo (the 18 days before the biginning of Autumn, Summer, Winter, and Spring), or the doki (earth energy) season. The fox, which is the incarnation of the earth virtue, is memorialized. And since the New Year is the wood energy season, according to the principle of mutual destruction, "wood defeats earth," foxes (earth) are hunted on the New Year (wood) day. It is, so to speak, an opportunity to send off the gods. These two events were truly timely.

Now, by using December 15th as a key word, the relationship between foxes and rice farming finally becomes clear in this story. Is it possible to make the time of sexual intercourse and birth between the fox, who was searching for a suitable partner in the fields, and the man, coincide with the sowing and harvesting seasons? The fox reveals its true form in the mortar hut. It is a veritable manifestation of the grain god. There, the rice tax that had been prepared in advance is being polished. The house has enough room to properly prepare the tax rice. This could only be the blessing of the grain god or fortune god. Here we see the seeds of the folk belief that foxes equal grain gods and fortune gods, which would later surface.

By the way, I have noticed that the story of “Kitsune no Atme” is connected to two other stories written about 200 years later in the same Nihon Ryōiki. The two stories are in the fourth volume of the middle volume, "The Case Where a Powerful Woman Tried to Test Her Strength," and the twenty-seventh, "The Case Where a Powerful Woman Showed Her Power." The gist of the two stories is that during the reign of Shōmu, the fourth-generation granddaughter of “Kitsune no Atme” was larger than average and had the strength of a hundred men. Taking advantage of her strength, she committed evil deeds. Hearing this rumor, the granddaughter of the priest Dojō of Gangō-ji Temple in Owari decided to test the strength of the Mino fox. She ended up beating the fox with a kudzu whip so hard that its flesh was torn off. The descendants of “Kitsune no Atme” swore allegiance to the granddaughter of the priest Dojō. The granddaughter of the priest Dojō was powerful herself, but in fact she gained this power by making rice cakes and offering them to the Three Treasures as written in the sutras in her previous life.

From this story, I think that the fox faith, which had already begun to spread among the people in the early days of the introduction of Buddhism, had become subordinate to Buddhism by the time of the reign of Shōmu, and had definitely become syncretized with Buddhism. Kondō Yoshihiro has proposed the theory that the ancient shrine maidens of Inari were powerful, and the story in the Nihon Ryōiki may be one of the pieces of evidence for this. Also, in Fox's Countryside Watarari, Orikuchi Shinobu says that a fox (myōbu), who could be said to be a musician at the Inari shrine, became connected to Tōji Temple, and after the mid-Heian period, was used by those descended from those who performed magic spells on Dakini, and became a wild fox. There is no evidence that the fox's direct connection with the Inari shrine was direct, but the story in the Nihon Ryōiki may be seen as a prelude to the situation that Orikuchi talks about, in that it is a faint shadow of fox faith.

(Figure 1) Fox statue at Mitsukoshi Department Store's Mimeguri Inari Shrine. (Photographed by the author with permission from the company.)

(2) Onmyōdō and foxes
Having seen the relationship between foxes and the Yin-Yang and Five Elements, we will next use the story of "Shinoda no Tsuma" to examine the process by which foxes became possessions in the world of Onmyōdō (Methode of Yin and Yang).

〈The white fox of Shinoda Forest, who was saved from danger by Abe no Yasuna, transformed into Kudzu no Ha, Yasuna's lover, nursed the injured Yasuna, became his wife, and gave birth to a child, Dōjimaru. Six years later, when Princess Kudzu no Ha and her father came to visit, the fox revealed its true form and disappeared, leaving behind a poem: "If you long for me, come and see me, for Izumi's grudge against Kudzu no Ha in Shinoda Forest." Dōjimaru grew up to become a famous onmyōji named Abe no Seimei.〉

This story, which has a similar theme to the “Kitsune no Atae” tale, was passed down in the form of sermons in the Middle Ages and Gidayu-bushi in the early modern period. In October 1724, Takeda Izumo adapted it into a puppet theater piece called "Ashiya Dōman Ōuchi Kagami," and it was performed as a kabuki play in February of the following year. There is a climax in which the fox Kuzunoha, holding the young child clinging to him in longing for his mother, writes a poem to be left for Yasuna on the shōji screen, sometimes with the brush in his right hand , sometimes with his left hand(resulting in mirror writing), and sometimes with the brush in his mouth, running from bottom to top; this scene still delights audiences when performed today (Figure 2).

(Figure 2) Kuzunoha writing a poem while holding the baby, painting by Utagawa Toyokuni

Abe no Seimei (921-1005) was a descendant of the ancient and famous Abe clan, but his family had no connection to Onmyōdō. Their social status was not particularly high. According to Murayama Shuichi's "A General Overview of the History of Onmyōdō in Japan," Seimei instead hoped to advance in life by studying Onmyōdō. The Onmyōryō (Bureau of Exorcist) was established during the reign of Emperor Tenmu, and under the Taihō Code, Onmyōji (exorcists) became vassals of the Ministry of Central Affairs. Abe no Seimei rose to the rank of Junior Fourth Rank through his own talent and learning.

The following are some possible reasons why Seimei's birth is linked to foxes.

One is that, as we saw in the tale of “Kitsune no Atae” the cultural consciousness of fox wives and achieving success and wealth was probably established among the general public by the 10th century. It is not known whether Seimei was a motherless child, but the power he gained despite being from no family background, and the people's admiration, envy, and a certain awe towards his terrifying abilities, were entrusted to the fox.

Secondly, Seimei's Onmyōdō had a strong mystical character, using Shikigami to perform "exorcisms of curses" and "return curses." When Onmyōdō was first introduced from China, it had a scientific character, so to speak, in that it superimposed laws derived from astronomical observations on human activities. It was only after it was established in Japan that the magical aspect was emphasized.

It seems that among the magic and shamanism, there was a technique to possess or exorcise a fox. In the "Daihō Myōrei Ritsu Uragaki" (The End of the Daihō Myōrei Law), it is written, "According to the commentary on the Zokutō Ritsu（The Thief Law), there are many kinds of ko, and it is impossible to know them all in detail, but if you gather all the ko and place them in one container, let them eat each other, and when all the ko are gone, if there is a snake, it is a snake ko. The animal is, so to speak, a thing that conveys the cat demon. (The rest is omitted.)" Ko refers to a curse that confuses people, or evil spirits. There are animals with strong spiritual powers that can possess humans, and it is stipulated that using their poison (shaman ko) is a grave sin. In China, there are many kinds of ko, such as dog ko, snake ko, yin ko (frog, toad), cat ko, and others, and fox ko is also listed. Although it cannot be said with certainty that the "shikigami" used by Abe no Seimei to kill someone with a curse was a fox spirit, the story in Volume 2 of "Uji Shūi Monogatari" in which Seimei recognizes the bird that had dropped its defecating on Kurodo no Shōshō as a "shikigami" supports the idea that miko were included in the onmyōdō of the time.

In one story included in the Konjaku Monogatari and other works, a monk from Miidera, Chikō, falls terminally ill, and his youngest disciple Shōku prepares to sacrifice his life in his place, while Abe no Seimei prays for the illness to be cured. This scene is depicted in the Naki Fudō Engi picture scroll handed down at Seijōka-in in Kyoto (Figure 3). In the center, Seimei recites a ritual text. Behind the altar stands a demon-like god of misfortune. Shōku sits to Seimei's left. This is known as possessed seating. Behind Seimei's right, two Shikigami (familiar spirits) stand by with offerings (nusa) tucked into their waists.

(Figure 3) Abe no Seimei praying with a Shikigami (familiar spirit) standing behind him on the right. From Naki Fudo Engi

Komatsu Kazuhiko speculates that these two Shikigami will drive the evil spirit out of Chikō’s body and have it possess Shōku.

In the Shōuki by Fujiwara no Sanesuke, a contemporary of Abe no Seimei, it is recorded that Fujiwara no Michinaga was tormented by vengeful spirits and suffered from various illnesses, including those possessed by evil spirits and those possessed by the mountain king. As a measure to recover, various measures were taken, including pilgrimages and sutra chanting, as well as rituals, incantations, prayers by onmyōji (exorcists), nemesis, curses, and liberation letters. The book also contains an article about the worship of foxes by shamans in Kyoto.

The idea that the person possessed by evil spirits or illnesses and the person who exorcises them are the same person has been a reality not only in the medical field of Japan for a very long time, but also in politics.

In 1420, the fourth Shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, was possessed by a fox. The physician Takama, along with Onmyōnosuke Sadamune Ason and Gonodaifu Toshitsune Ason, were arrested as the masterminds behind the fox-wielding scheme. The three were exiled to Sanuki, and Takama was beheaded on the way (Kanmon Gyōki and others).

According to Kuwata Tadachika and Shimada Shigenori, given the medical situation at the time, this incident cannot be simply dismissed as an act of cruelty. As proper medical treatment was not effective, Takama made Yoshimochi believe he was possessed by a fox, and after collecting a fee for a ritual, he let the fox go. He then declared that the fox that had possessed him had fallen away. He said he was aiming for a psychological effect on Yoshimochi.

The phenomenon of fox possession is roughly like this. Later, in the Edo period, people who showed symptoms that would now be diagnosed as schizophrenia (integration disorder) were recognized as possessed by foxes and confined within the framework of the village community. One might call this "tolerant discrimination." Although shamans who performed fox-exorcising rituals roamed the area around these people, their true nature was far from that of a shaman. And I think that this becomes more of a question of the history of psychopathology and the history of medical social systems.

Anyway, what we can learn from the phenomenon of fox possession today is that when speculations and conspiracies swirl, people's minds are confused by anxiety, fear, and hatred, and the entire society falls into a state of hysteria, people who take advantage of this inevitably appear. "Spirit possession" begins to function as an institution. Intelligence is neutralized, and the entire society becomes, so to speak, hypnotized. What is important is that people living in such a society are unable to recognize the state of their own society until it reaches a catastrophe.

(3) Inari Belief
As mentioned above, the worshippers of the Inari Shrine are believed to be immigrants from the Hata clan. Although there is some debate about the description of the founding of the Inari Shrine in the lost text of the Yamashiro no Kuni Fūdoki, my personal interpretation is as follows:

"Hata no Irogu, taking advantage of his prosperity due to rice crops, arrogantly made a target out of rice cakes and shot at it. The target then turned into a swan and landed on the mountain peak. Rice grew there, so he enshrined a shrine and named it Inari (The meaning of Carrying Rice). His descendants regretted their ancestor's mistake and uprooted the shrine tree and planted it in their home. If the tree takes root, it means good fortune, but if it withers, it means bad fortune."

"Mountain peak" is likely to be Mount Inari, where Uka no Mitama no Kami, the deity of Fushimi Inari Taisha, is enshrined. It is impossible to guess when this event occurred from the fragments of the "Yamashiro no Kuni Fūdoki." However, the accepted theory today is that Fushimi Inari Taisha was founded on the calendar on "Wadō 4th year, Kanotoi, February 11th, Tsuchinoeuma." Regarding the significance of this date of foundation, I will quote the theory based on Yin-Yang and the Five Elements proposed by Yoshino mentioned above. It goes like this:

The year after Emperor Genmei ascended to the throne (707), Wadō was presented from Chichibu in Musashi Province as a celebration of his accession. The emperor considered this a national event and issued an edict to change the era name to Wadō. However, contrary to this celebration, a long rainy typhoon in Oki Province in July of that year was followed by two years of bad weather, leading to poor harvests and the outbreak of epidemics. According to calendar studies, the fourth year of Wadō, Xinghai (Kanotoi), was a year when "metal produces water." The following year, the fifth year, Mizunoe, was a year of abundant water that occurs once every 60 years. To prevent this predicted major flood disaster, the god of grains and the fox god of earth virtue had to be enshrined. After careful calculations, the date chosen was the eleventh day of Unotsuki (the month of the Hare), which was the month of the Horse. Unotsuki is a time of abundant wood energy and spring when plants sprout. The principle of Tsuchinoeuma (the elder-brother of Earth and Horse) is that "fire produces earth." The fire element of the horse helps the earth element (fox) to be strengthened.

Let's examine Yoshino's theory through an image.

As Yoshino gives as an example, the "horse-riding fox" from Fushimi dolls, a long-loved local toy, can be said to be a direct representation of the Tsuchinoeuma doll. During the Meiwa period of the Edo period, items based on this Fushimi doll began to be sold in front of Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine, and they are still handed down to this day. There are also papier- mâché versions in Nagoya. Because the fox is dressed in a kimono, it is called the "fox's wedding," but the principle of fire and earth seems to have been hidden in the shadows.

Figure 4 is an Otsu-e. It says, "Those who ride those who are meant to ride will fall into the trap of foxes, so do not regret it." It means that you should not trust things that you should not trust, and then regret it later when you realize it. The original principle of the image was completely forgotten, and the idea that foxes are deceiving people had permeated the general public.

On the other hand, there is a mechanism doll (automata) called a "mask-wearing" doll among the Gosho dolls (the Imperial Palace doll). The mask is put on by turning the handle on the back. Among the various types is the "Fox Mask," with a pattern called Mizuhiki-te painted on the child's forehead. It was used as a gift by court nobles. It is clearly endowed with the incantation-based wishes of the fox god (

who appears in the real world in a different form), a god of good fortune.

Left (Figure 4) Horse-riding fox, Ōtsu-e, Edo period
Right (Figure 5) Statue of Ugajin, Kankitendo,Higashimatsuyama City
(author's sketch)

Now, let's return to Mt. Inari once more.

There are so many things that need to be examined concerning Mt. Inari. To put it simply, Mt. Inari and the village of Fukakusa, which overlooks the mountain's shape, are thought to have been the site of conflict or syncretism between gods.

The god of Mt. Inari was originally a snake god. The Kada clan worshipped him as their ancestral deity. The distant ancestor of the Kada clan was called Ryuzuta, and it seems that he made his living from rice farming and logging. The Inari Daimyōjin Ryuki states that Ryuzuta's face was like that of a dragon, shining brightly and illuminating the night as if it were day.

What does this mean?

In 1873, two mirrors estimated to date to the second half of the 4th century were unearthed at the Inariyama Sannomine ruins. One was a Chinese-style mirror depicting two gods and two animals, and the other was the remains of a modified mirror made to resemble four animals. Although there is no doubt that this mirror was used in rituals, research into the magical significance of ritual mirrors is generally lagging behind. Among them, Kondō Yoshihiro interprets it as Miyanome. I am attracted to Kondō’s theory in that the mirror resembles the giant eye of the divine snake of Mount Inari. Ryuzuta's facial features make it possible to imagine a giant snake with mirror eyes.

By the way, when the Hata clan, a tribe of immigrants, arrived in Fukakusa, the Kada clan had already been living in the Mt. Inari area. The Hata clan, like the Kada clan, made their living by cultivating rice, but they were a clan that worshipped the virtues of foxes. The Hata clan's rice cultivation techniques may have been more advanced than those of the Kada clan. The Hata clan "prospered and grew wealthy," and eventually their influence surpassed that of the Kada clan. They eventually drove out the snake god of Mt. Inari and established a fox shrine on the site.

However, Uka no Mitama no Kami, the deity worshiped at Fushimi Inari, is the same deity as Ugajin (Figure 5), that is, a white snake deity, and foxes are said to be its messengers. What does this mean? I have noticed that the snake god is a deity associated with water. The snake god is a god of rice cultivation, but according to the principle of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, "water gives birth to trees," it was only natural that the Kata clan, whose occupation was forestry, would worship him. The fox god was invited on the 11th day of the 1st month of the Xinghai year of the Hare year, the day of Tsuchinoeuma, in the 4th year of the Wadō era, as a measure to prevent flooding, so it was necessary to weaken the spiritual power of the snake god, which is associated with water. However, since they also needed to borrow the help of the wood energy of the Hare month, the snake god was not simply driven away, and the fox appeared to be in the position of a messenger, which perhaps allowed the previous main deity to maintain its dignity.

Figure 6 is a sacred talisman for Fushimi Inari. It can be interpreted as telling the historical events surrounding the deity enshrined at Mount Inari.

A blind is hung over the inner sanctuary, and three jewels are offered in a large cup in the center. Next, a threshing pole (a tool for threshing grain), a symbol of agriculture, is drawn over the flame jewel on the right. The flame jewel on the left features branches and leaves of a cedar, a symbol of forestry. The cedar is called the "cedar of prophecy" and is the sacred talisman for Fushimi Inari Taisha. The next tier shows a snake god on a sack of grain. The snake on the right holds a key in its mouth, and is called a "kagitori" (key-taker), and represents the priest who keeps the key to the shrine. In my opinion, it may be related to the hook-hanging ritual performed by forestry workers. The "kagitori" can also be seen in the white fox statues at the heads of Inari shrines enshrined in various places. The bottom tier shows a black and white fox god statue. Thanks to the blessings of the fox god's ritual in the fourth year of Wadō, the year passed safely. In the following year, in July, when a major flood was predicted, a black fox was presented from Iga Province. The emperor praised this as an auspicious sign. As expected, there was no long rain, and the grains ripened abundantly. Then, in the seventh year of Wadō, the era name was changed, and on New Year's Day, a white fox was presented from Tōtōmi Province. The sacred talisman tells us this fact.

Left (Figure 6) Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, God's Talisman
Right (Figure 7) An old man carrying a bundle of rice and a fox, from Fujiwara Nobuzane's "Cedar Leaves"

By the way, there is a legend that Kōbō Daishi Kūkai acted as a mediator in the conflict between the gods of Mt. Inari. The image of Inari Myōjin is based on this legend, so let me explain the gist of it.

〈 During the Kōnin era, while Kōbō Daishi was practicing asceticism on Mt. Inari, Ryuzuta appeared before him and declared that he was the mountain god of the mountain, but that he had converted to Shingon and would hand over the mountain to Kōbō Daishi. Kōbō Daishi was deeply reverent and made a mask of Ryuzuta as a sacred object. It was enshrined in the Kamado Hall (the Cooking Kiln Hall), which is now the Kada Shrine. Daishi wanted to invite Inari Myōjin to the mountain that Ryuzuta had given him. However, at the foot of the mountain was Fujio Daimyojin (a tree god, another incarnation of Ryuzuta). The Master reported this to Emperor Saga, who then moved the deity to Fukakusa, and enshrined at the site an old man (Figure 7) carrying rice that the Master had encountered in Kishū, along with his two wives and two children. The old man is in fact Inari Myōjin. 〉

This talks about the change of the snake god and the fox god on Mount Inari, which would also mean that the power map between the Kada clan and the Hata clan was redrawn. It is highly likely that Tōji Temple (Kyōōgokokuji Temple) played the role of a middleman in this. In other words, although the foundation of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism was solidified, it was necessary to further penetrate the faith of the people. For this reason, it is certain that they paid attention to the power relationships of the indigenous gods from an early stage. The Kōbō Daishi Gyōjyō Ekotoba (Illustrated book about Kobo Daishi’s activities) describes the contact between Inari Myōjin and Kūkai as follows:

In April of the 7th year of the Kōnin era (816), the Daishi met an old man with a strange appearance in Tanabe, Kishū. He was eight feet tall, muscular, and had an aura of great power within him, but on the outside he looked like an ordinary man. When the old man saw the Daishi, he said, "I am a follower of Shintō, but you, O saint, are endowed with authority and are the very embodiment of a bodhisattva. Your disciple is a very lucky man." The Master replied, "I have never forgotten the promise we made when we first met in India. Our ways and appearances differ, but our hearts are the same. Please come to Tōji Temple. I look forward to seeing you."

The ancient fox belief changed somewhat when it encountered Esoteric Shingon Buddhism. The same was true for Esoteric Shingon Buddhism. The two eventually became intertwined, for better or worse, in Shugendō.

The Tōji version of the Kōbō Daishi Gyōjyō Ekotoba depicts a scene in which an old man carrying a bundle of rice and his followers visit the Great South Gate of Tōji Temple, a scene in which they are offered food in front of the gate, and the Master leading the old man to Mount Inari.

The character for "fox" is not to be found in this picture. Not even a trace of it can be seen. According to the Inari Daimyōjin Engi, when Daishi performed a ritual to appease Inari Myōjin, the two women and child who accompanied the old man were enshrined at Ghegū and Chūgū, and the two children were enshrined at Tanaka and the four major shrines.

What is the relationship between these two women and Kitsune no Myōubu?

As mentioned above, the situation that Orikuchi Shinobu wrote about with disdain will eventually lead to the original story of Myōubu, but I will not go into it here as it will become too complicated. However, I will point out that agricultural gods always have an aspect of belief in sex gods.

Let's take a look at the iconography.

I sketched the Inari Myōjin standing statue at Renchōji Temple in Nara (Figure 8). What is interesting about this standing statue is that it can be interpreted in two different ways. One is that the old man is an incarnation of the fox god, and that they are in fact the same entity. Alternatively, it could be that Uka no Mitama no Kami is standing on the fox, his messenger.

Tōkō-in Hōseki-ji Temple on Okaue in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, belonged to the Shingon sect according to the "Shinpen Musashi Fūdoki-kō,” but is now an independent temple. On top of a hill within the temple grounds is Kasamori-sha, where a 30cm-tall statue of the Inari-riding fox god is enshrined. As there is no inscription, the era cannot be determined, but it is carved out of stone, and the deity is riding a fox, carrying a bundle of rice on his right shoulder and holding a sickle in his left hand. It is a truly adorable statue (Figure 9). Unusually for an Inari shrine, this shrine does not have a torii gate. The statue of the enshrined deity is clearly that of a grain god, but judging from the name of the shrine, it seems that there was also a belief in praying for recovery from smallpox and sexually transmitted diseases. Even today, on the first day of the horse month in February, local believers erect flags and make offerings of sardines, fried tofu, and red bean rice.

The first smallpox epidemic was in 735. Since then, people have worshiped gods and Buddhas and prayed for recovery from what is considered the most fearsome epidemic. In the early modern period, the custom of worshiping the smallpox god as a folk belief was widespread, and the Sōchū Gūki states, "In Japan, homes suffering from smallpox must enshrine husband and wife of the smallpox god in their halls, commonly known as the Mogami." But why did Inari Myōjin come to be believed to have the power to cure smallpox? Its origins are unclear, but in "Zangheotoko (Repentance man) “ published in 1707, it is said that an Inari shrine on the banks of the Akutagawa River in Tsu Province was said to be able to relieve people from the pain of illness and cure boils and swellings, and so people called it Kasakamisama (Smallpox god). This shrine is currently Kasamori Inari, located directly above Takatsuki City. The shrine name is said to come from the fact that the forest along the Akutagawa River resembles the shape of a hat. The fact that Kasamori is derived from smallpox shows the spirit of folk belief.

Left (Figure 8) Standing Inari Myōjin statue, Renchōji Temple, Nara City (sketch by author)
Right (Figure 9) Statue of Inari Myōjin riding a fox, Tōkō-in Kasamorisha Shrine, Kawasaki City (photographed by author)

Figure 10 is a votive tablet depicting a fox and a jewel.

Figure 11 is a nishiki-e by Suzuki Harunobu (1725-70) titled Osen's Teahouse. It depicts Osen, the daughter of Kagiya, a teahouse owner at Kasamori Inari Shrine, who was highly acclaimed as a beautiful woman in Edo during the Meiwa period. This shrine was built to enshrine Kasamori Inari in Akutagawa, Tsu Province. It was also worshiped for its cures for smallpox and sexually transmitted diseases. This was probably because it was close to the Yoshiwara red-light district. It seems that there was a custom of offering black earthen dumplings as an initial prayer for a visit, and white glutinous rice dumplings as a thank-you visit for recovery. Harunobu's nishikie also depicts offerings of dumplings for sale on the lower left corner of the three sides.

Figure 12 is a woodblock print that gives us an idea of how popular Osen was. A jewel is enshrined in the large torii gate, and a "Japanese cedar tree of good fortune" is enshrined in the upper right corner, and it is clear that the enshrined deity is Inari Myōjin.

Top left (Figure 10) Ema depicting a fox and a jewel, Yamanashi Prefecture
Bottom left (Figure 11) Osen's teahouse, Nishiki-e, by Suzuki Harunobu
Right (Figure 12) Osen, Edo woodblock print, Meiwa period

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