Inari

Inari Ōkami is the Japanese kami of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake, agriculture and industry, and general prosperity and worldly success. Inari was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants. Alternatingly-represented as male and/or female, Inari is sometimes seen as a collective of three or five individual kami.   Inari's foxes, or kitsune, are pure white and act as their messengers but it is more likely that in ancient times the fox itself was revered as the kami of rice.   According to myth, Inari, as a megami (female Kami), was said to have come to Japan at the time of its creation amidst a harsh famine that struck the land. She descended from Heaven riding on a white fox, and in her hand she carried sheaves of cereal or grain. Ine, the word now used for rice, is the name for this cereal. What she carried was not rice but some cereal that grows in swamps. According to legend, in the ancient times Japan was water and swamp land.   Foxes running wild in rice-fields might have inspired the idea of Inari as they seemed to inspect the crops. To show their gratitude the farmers offered the fox red rice and fried bean curd to foxes.   Inari most often appears as a warrior. Inari has been depicted both as female and as male. The most popular representations of Inari are a young female food megami and an old man carrying grains of rice.   The fox, magical gems, scrolls with divine writings, and the wish-fulfilling Hoju are prominent symbols of Inari. Other common elements in depictions of Inari, and sometimes of their kitsune, include a sickle, a sheaf or sack of rice, and a sword. Another belonging was their whip—although they were hardly known to use it, it was a powerful weapon that was used to burn people's crops of rice.   Inari is also associated with the numbers 2 and 3, numbers with either one at the beginning, including and especially multiples of them able to be evenly divided by powers of 10, and multiples of 2 and 3.   He is also associated with brothels, entertainers, swords and swordsmiths, and food and meals in general besides rice.   The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion torii and some statues of kitsune, which are often adorned with red yodarekake (votive bibs) by worshippers out of respect. This red color has come to be identified with Inari, because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their torii. Offerings of rice, sake, and other food are given at the shrine to appease and please these kitsune messengers, who are then expected to plead with Inari on the worshipper's behalf. Inari-zushi, a Japanese sushi roll of packaged fried tofu, is another popular offering. Fried tofu is believed to be a favorite food of Japanese foxes, and in some regions an Inari-zushi roll has pointed corners that resemble fox ears, thus reinforcing the association. Priests do not normally offer these foods to the deity, but it is common for shops that line the approach to an Inari shrine to sell fried tofu for devotees to offer.   Inari's traditional festival day was the sixth day of the second month.   (Character Advantage: +2 Investigation Checks) (Alternate Race: Vulpin)