The Coal Pit (Yama) and the Fox #5 (Great Gracious Goddess Inari)
1958 - 1963

Yama to Kitsune #5 (Inari Daimyojin)
[The Coal Pit (Yama) and the Fox #5 (Great Gracious Goddess Inari)]
20.9 x 29.9 cm Ink Painting

The fox which had cursed the pit came to be worshipped as a goddess named Inari Daimyojin and was enshrined as the guardian deity of the coal pit run by the Mitsui Mining & Co., Ltd. (This goddess is also called Inari Okami or Uka-no-mitama-no-kami, and is enshrined in Ise Jingu Shrine as Toyouke-hime-no-kami. The Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is the origin of Inari shrines, enshrines Omiya-no-me-no-mikoto in its upper shrine, Sarutahiko-no-okami in its middle shrine, and Uka-no-mitama-no-kami in its lower shrine.) Since the people at Y Coal Pit expressed their heartfelt apology to the fox and decided to worship it as a deity, the Inari Shrine will protect them as long as the Mitsui's pit exists.

Creator's Additional Notes: Y coal Pit run by Mitsui was the first pit to have enshrined a guardian deity, and later in the middle of the Taisho era (1912-1926), each of the pits in the Chikuho region enshrined some guardian deity. As such, Y Coal Pit enshrined their guardian deity about 20 years earlier than other pits. By the way, Inari-sama (Inari Daimyojin) is said to be the goddess of foods and the goddess is an important one also outside the pit. Three major Inari shrines in Japan are Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Yutoku Inari Shrine in Saga, and Toyokawa Inari Shrine in Mikawa (Aichi Prefecture), which enshrines this goddess as Dakiniten (Kudagitsune: fox-shaped goblin).

Lettering on the Flags
sho ichii: Senior First Rank
Inari Daimyojin: Great Gracious Goddess Inari
Meiji Sanju Ninen X-gatsu X-nichi: A Certain Month and Date in the 32nd Year of the Meiji Era(1899)
Lettering on the Frame on the Torii (gateway at the entrance to the Shrine)
sho ichii: Senior First Rank
Inari Okami: Great Goddess Inari


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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