{"id":23860,"date":"2024-09-23T17:08:46","date_gmt":"2024-09-23T20:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gabrielpaladino.com\/?p=23860"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:07:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:07:57","slug":"kitsune-at-fushimi-inari-shrine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pelecyphora.ddns.net:60123\/GabrielPaladino.com\/2024\/09\/23\/kitsune-at-fushimi-inari-shrine\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitsune at Fushimi Inari shrine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Foxes, serving as messengers for Inari (the deity associated with paddy fields and other attributes), are depicted as statues marking the shrines. Narrative paintings and scrolls often feature kitsune (foxes), particularly as white foxes.<\/p>\n

At Fushimi Inari Shrine, the kitsune sculptures make up over 25% of all fox statues found at shrines throughout Japan.<\/p>\n

In Japanese iconography, foxes hold significant roles, ranging from cunning shape-shifters to guardians of rice and granaries. In mythology, foxes (kitsune) can be either bad (nogitsune) or good (yako or zenko), often distinguished by their colors and facial expressions in paintings.<\/p>\n

Regarding sculptures, good foxes are typically placed at the entrances of Inari shrines, serving as guardians. These statues are often adorned with a red cloth, symbolizing the auspicious color of Inari. In contrast, bad fox statues are fewer and usually hidden in thickets or remote locations.<\/p>\n

At the Inari shrine, a kitsune holding a key to the rice granary welcomes visitors. Its raised tail and stern expression signify its role as a guardian. The other kitsune in the pair greets visitors with a pleasant expression. Both kitsune at Fushimi Inari have one tail, while some kitsune depicted as spirits or souls in paintings have multiple tails.<\/p>\n

Fushimi Inari Taisha, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan<\/p>\n

Photo Taken: April 07, 2024<\/p>\n

High resolution<\/a>
Flickr Gallery<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Did you like this post?<\/b><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foxes, serving as messengers for Inari (the deity associated with paddy fields and other attributes), are depicted as statues marking the shrines. Narrative paintings and scrolls often feature kitsune (foxes), particularly as white foxes. At Fushimi Inari Shrine, the kitsune sculptures make up over 25% of all fox statues found at shrines throughout Japan. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,16,1015,1024,2380,3642,3995,4559,5092,5218,5219,5326,5329,5330,5355,5356,5967,6545,6593,6597,6818,6820,6840,6978,7063,7072,7179,7296,8795,8806,8996,9011,9013,11077,11510,11646,11792,11956,11981,11983,12051,12444,12665,12770,13180,13217,13286,13339,13467,14768,13795,14343],"class_list":["post-23860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-related-posts","tag-animals","tag-travel","tag-asia","tag-asiaoriental","tag-canon","tag-creativity","tag-deity","tag-entrance","tag-flickr","tag-fox","tag-foxes","tag-fushimi","tag-fushimiinaritaisha","tag-fushimiku","tag-gabrielpaladinocom","tag-gabrielpaladinoibanez","tag-guardian","tag-iconography","tag-inari","tag-inaritaisha","tag-japan","tag-japan2024","tag-japon","tag-kami","tag-kioto","tag-kitsune","tag-kyoto","tag-landoftherisingsun","tag-mythology","tag-nagarezukuri","tag-nihon","tag-nippon","tag-nipponkoku","tag-redcloth","tag-sacred","tag-santuario","tag-sculpture","tag-shinto","tag-shrine","tag-shrines","tag-sintoista","tag-statue","tag-sunorigin","tag-taisha","tag-torii","tag-tourism","tag-travelling","tag-trip","tag-turismo","tag-updated","tag-viaje","tag-zorro","has-post-thumbnail"],"tags_input":"#animals,#travel,asia,asiaoriental,canon,creativity,deity,entrance,Flickr,fox,foxes,fushimi,fushimiinaritaisha,fushimiku,gabrielpaladinocom,gabrielpaladinoiba\u00f1ez,guardian,iconography,inari,inaritaisha,japan,japan2024,Jap\u00f3n,kami,kioto,kitsune,kyoto,landoftherisingsun,mythology,nagarezukuri,nihon,nippon,nipponkoku,redcloth,sacred,santuario,sculpture,shinto,shrine,shrines,sintoista,statue,sunorigin,taisha,torii,tourism,travelling,trip,turismo,Updated,viaje,zorro","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phjlBv-6cQ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26415,"url":"http:\/\/pelecyphora.ddns.net:60123\/GabrielPaladino.com\/2025\/04\/09\/fushimi-inari-taisha\/","url_meta":{"origin":23860,"position":0},"title":"Fushimi Inari Taisha","author":"Gabriel Paladino Ib\u00e1\u00f1ez","date":"April 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kitsune fox sculptures adorned with red aprons, carved from stone as divine guardians of the Shinto Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine in Kyoto\u2019s Fushimi-ku district (Japan). 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