Back to search result Small Shinto Santuary dedicated to the Uga-no-Mitama divinity meaning "the spirit of
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Small Shinto Santuary dedicated to the Uga-no-Mitama divinity meaning "the spirit of the rice in storehouses" which is associated with food and agriculture and which is often represented in the form of the fox Inari the divinity of rice. On the yellow paper lanterns that are hanging under a trellis shaded by foliage are drawn symbols that remind you of the will-o'-the-wisles and ideograms "Shuzoku Enoki" from the name of the tree where the foxes gathered or "kitsunebi" which means Fox ghost light. Located in the city of Oji in the district of Kita north of Tokyo, this place once owned a tree Enoki Celtis sinensis Micocoulier which stood in the middle of the rice fields. On New Year's Eve, foxes from all over the region gathered here and there were signs of will-o'-the-wisps, which made the superstitious peasants count their numbers and used that to predict a good or bad harvest for next year. The two foxes sit on a stone pedestal or two signifying ideograms offering "Houken" are inscribed on both sides. At the top of the steps is a box to collect the donators' coins where the word offering "Hounou" is inscribed with a stylized symbol of rice shoots and a fox head at its center. On the yellow lantern and above the door are inscribed the name of Shozoku Inari Shrine. This scene is represented in the series of prints "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" by Utagawa Hiroshige.
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Zoonar/Cazottes Clément
