Hello and welcome to the history of Japan podcast, episode 485, outfoxed.

We've done a lot of different kinds of history on this podcast, from biographies to social

movements, to art styles, to everything in between. But one thing we have never done before

is the biography of a god. And now, at long last, I think it's time to change that.

This week I want to talk about one of Japan's most ubiquitous religious figures, one with

a long and absolutely fascinating history, chiefly because Inari, it turns out, is one of Japan's

most amorphous religious figures.

First, a quick note on terminology.

I'm going to refer to Inari as a god throughout this episode.

That's obviously my attempt to render the Japanese word kami,

which could be thought of as types of nature spirits.

I do want to note that God in this context should not have the kind of omnipotent implication it does in English.

Kami as conceived of in the Japanese religious tradition are powerful spirits that do have a real impact on this world,

but they are not all-powerful.

And for Inari specifically, things get a bit more confusing because, as we'll see, there's some cross-religious appeal as well.

Inari worship is not just confined to Japan's Shinto shrines.

More than a few temples have Inari spirits on the grounds.

And Inari has taken on some Buddhist meaning as well as a sort of protector deity,

often referred to as a guardian spirit or as the incarnation of a Bodhisattva,

a sort of saintly figure in Buddhism as a result.

Again, for ease of reference, I'm just going to use the word God here, but I want you to be aware of just how complicated that word is in this context.

Inari worship means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

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