Toyokawa Inari — Myōgon-ji

photo by z tanuki · CC BY 3.0

photo by Yanajin33 · CC BY-SA 3.0

About 1,000 fox statues, each one different, fill the small Reikozuka shrine.

Founded in 1441 as a Sōtō Zen temple by the master Tōkai Gieki, it is today one of the three great Inari of Japan (here the cult is Buddhist, not Shinto, and the foxes are messengers of Dakiniten). At the Reikozuka, a small shrine within the complex, the fox statues that worshippers donate in thanks for an answered prayer have been piling up for generations: there are about a thousand, each carved differently from the others.

The complex is also a pilgrimage centre for commerce and prosperity, a destination for company visits as well as devotional ones. The extraordinary unveiling (御開帳) of the temple's secret statue is scheduled for 2026, after 72 years.

ℹ️ Main gate (総門) 5:00–18:00: within those hours you can come and go freely to pray. Main shrine, Oku-no-in and Bandō 7:30–15:30. Amulets and goshuin 8:00–16:00.

🚉 Toyokawa · 5 min walk

Sources: toyokawainari.jp · toyokawainari.jp · toyokawainari.jp

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