Performers and Peddlers Who Visited the Pit (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912)
December 1965

Meiji Yama o Otozureshi Geinin Shonin
[Performers and Peddlers Who Visited the Pit (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912)]
38.0 x 54.2 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

It is said that when the yellow-brown coat of the fox turns white, after changing once like armor, the fox becomes the goddess called Inari-san and saves us human beings, the lords of creation, curing our diseases or removing evils with its spiritual and supernatural power. It is a blessed animal. Inari-san is also called Kura-ine-mitama-no-kami and is the goddess of foods. That is why the fox is necessarily linked to us in a mysterious way.
This shown Inari-sama (Inari-san) carried to each house by the peddler was about 60 centimeters tall. It held rattling bells in its hands and had an about-60-centimeter-long pipe on its back, through which the peddler pulled strings for moving its hands up and down to rattle the bells. After that he chanted to pray for the prosperity of the family and to cure diseases. He received an offering of a mine token of 1 sen (10 kin: 0.01 yen) or 5 rin (5 kin: 0.005 yen), or a plateful of polished rice.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

<<Last pictorial record    Next pictorial record>>

<<Last 10 items  11 | 12 | 13 | 14｜15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |   Next 10 Items>>

14／25