Toyokawa Inari Temple, Akasaka

Buddhist temple with a Shinto flair

Larry Knipfing Mar 22, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>The foxes and red torii gate are remnants of days gone by when this temple was a shrine</p>

<p>Beautiful entrance to Toyokawa Inari Temple, Akasaka</p>

<p>Red lanterns adorning the outside wall of the temple</p>

<p>Woman in kimono reading the omikuji fortune that she purchased from the wooden rack behind her</p>

<p>One of the more striking foxes here</p>

<p>Approach to the temple, flanked by two guardian fox statues</p>

<p>Buddhist stature surrounded by prayer banners donated by temple members</p>

<p>This fox is holding a sacred scroll in its mouth</p>

<p>View of the temple and the tall buildings of modern Akasaka-Mitsuke, seen through an incense stick receptacle</p>

<p>Prayer boards behind a stone lantern</p>

<p>Red lanterns and early-blooming cherry blossoms</p>

<p>It was a beautiful day (mid-March) that featured great lighting, a deep blue sky, and pretty pink sakura</p>

At the onset of the Meiji Restoration (1867) , when Japan had finally opened her doors to the West hoping to modernize, the government ruled that all temples and shrines that had previously shared the same space, should now be separated. Toyokawa Inari Temple is a perfect example of how that proclamation was resisted. Although this is a temple, there are remnants of shine influences everywhere you look. Statures of sacred foxes (which can be found in abundance at shrines all over Japan) dominate the grounds, and here and there, there are also shrine torii (Shinto gates) that you will see. Its head temple is located in Aichi Prefecture. These photos were taken in mid-March. Follow these links to the other photo stories in the series.

Toyokawa Inari Temple

Larry Knipfing @larry.knipfing

Born on Long Island, New York in 1958, I have spent the last 30 years of my life living in Japan, and enjoying every minute of it! I especially love photography, and Japan is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world to photograph! My other love is fiction writing and I have pub...