We were making our way back to Kamakura Station when we saw signs pointing to the Sasuke Inari Shrine (佐助稲荷神社), so we decided to follow them.
Sasuke Inari Shrine is a Shinto shrine supposedly created by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun of Kamakura. While in exile in Izu, Yoritomo was visited in a dream by an old man from the Hidden Village of Kamakura who instructed Yoritomo of the timing to begin battling his enemies. When Yoritomo succeeded and became shōgun, he created this shrine in gratitude. An alternative to this story has an Inari Fox messenger appearing in Yoritomo’s dream. The hidden village that was adjacent to the shrine was the dwelling of a band of people that were the antecedents to the Ninja.
At first I was a bit disappointed, this building (which is the lower shrine) looks rather disappointing.
I was just about to turn back when I noticed this mysterious path, outlined by a red Torii and lots of red flags.
After climbing it, I reached the upper shrine.
Inari shrine typically feature little statues of foxes, because the Inari is a God/Goddess (depending on your point of view) of foxes, as well as rice, agriculture, industry and fertility (hmm, a useful deity to worship!).
I was staggered by the amount of moss covered fox statues here, very pretty and photogenic (some decorated with red bibs by worshippers). Often the foxes come in pairs (representing a married couple I suppose).
On the way back down, I took some photos of foxes next to the Torii gates at the start of the path. Funny how I didn’t notice them on the way up (too busy admiring the red gates).
Walking back to Kamakura station.
We saw a corgi waiting for its master nearby.
Kamakura train station looks quaint.
Kamakura town clock.
Full set of photos:
