In the middle of a forest area, coming across an old, dilapidated, seemingly forgotten shrine, you might expect relics of an older time, perhaps a nature spirit (maybe Totoro!) if you are the superstitious type, but instead we find this guy.

What brings you here? asks the fox.

In Japan, foxes are magical creatures. They are said to be able to shapeshift, and often assume human forms for some purpose. Some stories speak of them as tricksters, others speak of them as guardians and good friends. Because of the latter idea, they have become associated with Inari and are often thought of as his/her messenger.

稲荷大神 Inari Okami^[1] is the kami of success and that makes him/her pretty much the most popular kami in Japan. As I mentioned in yesterday's post Inari shrines are the most common type of Shinto shrine in Japan. Everyone who wants success is always visiting for luck, especially businessmen.

This was taken at a small Inari shrine I discovered one day after a dentist appointment. There is a hill covered with a grove of trees. I thought it was just a small forest. I found an old overgrown trail and thought I would explore a bit. Imagine my surprise when in the middle of the woods I started seeing torii gates and eventually came to an old somewhat untended shrine. Wonderful! This is one of my favorite things about Japan.

That line I wrote above the photo, by the way: "What brings you here?" asks the fox. That image is somewhat inspired by Fukuro ("the owl") by Kokai. It's a soothing song with a New Age feel (think Loreena McKennitt).

Here is a video someone made for the song.

	David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

1. Ee-nah-ree Oh-kah-me ↩