Such a high profile also meant that Inari would not remain a strictly agricultural deity. As an agricultural deity, they were important to people in all regions of the country.īy the 9th and 10th centuries, Inari was already of such great importance that the emperors of the time recognized them as a patron and protector of the nation.
Inari’s role as a benefactor of Japan’s most important crops allowed the deity’s cult to spread throughout Japan relatively quickly. They were soon linked with the cultivation of tea, another staple of the Japanese diet, and eventually with all grains and the products made from them, such as sake. Inari quickly became associated with other forms of agricultural prosperity, however. Generally appearing as a benevolent deity, Inari was believed to ensure a plentiful harvest.
They may also appear as an old man carrying a bag of rice, however.īecause Inari’s name comes from the phrase “carrying rice,” they were most closely associated with Japan’s staple food crop. They were likely revered as an agricultural kami by the late 5th century and may have existed as a local deity before then.īecause Inari developed before Japanese religion was uniform throughout the country, they appear in many forms depending on the context.Īs an agricultural deity, Inari is most often seen as a beautiful goddess. While the first recorded appearance of Inari, the foundation of a shrine, is recorded in the year 711 AD, most historians believe that the deity emerged long before that time. Inari’s name shares part of its kanji with the word for rice, making it clear that the deity had agricultural significance from an early period. The earliest form of Inari was as a god, or goddess, of agriculture. Each person and community has been encouraged for hundreds of years to revere a version of Inari that is personal and meaningful to them.įrom the rice paddies of the 8th century to modern corporate offices, Inari has taken on many forms and functions to become the patron of success in Japanese culture. Inari’s long and unique history has made them not only one of Shinto’s most popular figures, but also its most personal. They can be an androgynous bodhisattva, a withered old man, or even a fox. They can be a powerful craftsman with a hammer. Inari can be seen as a kindly and beautiful maiden goddess.
While Inari has more shrines and followers than any other Shinto kami, however, very few Japanese people agree on exactly how they view Inari. A deity of prosperity and good fortune, Inari’s cult spread throughout Japan relatively early in the country’s history. Of the thousands of kami revered in Shinto, perhaps none is as beloved as Inari.
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