- What kind of temple is Toyokawa Inari? Soto Zen temple with a name like a shrine
- Why is Toyokawa Inari a temple with a fox?
- Toyokawa Inari is also called “Toyokawa Kaku” in the Meiji era
- Access to Toyokawa Inari
- Parking around Toyokawa Inari
- Toyokawa Inari Official Website
- Recommended around Toyokawa Inari
What kind of temple is Toyokawa Inari? Soto Zen temple with a name like a shrine
Toyokawa Inari” is a Soto Zen temple located in Toyokawa-cho, Toyoda City, Aichi Prefecture.
It was founded in 1441 by Tokai Gieki, a Soto Zen priest.
Many people think of “Inari” as a shrine, such as Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, but Toyokawa Inari is a genuine Buddhist temple of the Soto sect. Its official name is “Enpukuji Toyokawa Kaku Myogonji Temple.
Why is Toyokawa Inari a temple with a fox?
The word “fox” is associated with shrines that worship the god Inari (foxes are messengers of the god Inari), but Toyokawa Inari, which is also a temple, also has a fox.
The reason why there is a fox is related to the temple’s guardian deity, Dagini-ten.
Dagini-ten is a Buddhist goddess who is depicted as a white fox astride a white fox carrying an ear of rice.
Dagini-ten was revered by the Soto Zen priest Kangan Giyin during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), who instructed his disciples to worship and pray to her.
The founder of this temple, Tokai Giyi, accepted this teaching and enshrined it as a guardian deity.
Dagini-ten was also equated with the Inari God of Shintoism (through the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism) because of the “ears of rice and foxes”.
For these reasons, there are many foxes at Toyokawa Inari.
Toyokawa Inari is also called “Toyokawa Kaku” in the Meiji era
Toyokawa Inari” is also famous as a temple that was revered by famous historical figures.
It is said that during the Warring States Period, the temple was highly revered by Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa, who ruled what is now Aichi Prefecture, and especially by Yoshimoto Imagawa. Incidentally, the oldest building in the temple, the Sanmon Gate, was donated by Yoshimoto Imagawa in 1536.
In the Edo period (1603-1868), the temple was revered by Tadasama Ooka (famous for his nickname “Ooka Echizen”), and in 1828, 70 years after Ooka’s death, the spirit of Toyokawa Inari was enshrined in the Nishi-Ohira clan’s mansion.
In the Meiji era (1868-1912), the separation of Shinto and Buddhism led to the removal of the torii gate and the strict distinction from shrines, but the imperial family, the Arisugawa family, revered the temple and donated the plaque “Toyokawakaku” to the temple.
Since then, the temple has also been called “Toyokawakaku” as in the official name of the temple.
Access to Toyokawa Inari
1, Toyokawa-cho, Toyokawa-shi, Aichi 442-8538, Japan
Parking around Toyokawa Inari
Toyokawa Inari Official Website
Official site：https://www.toyokawainari.jp/