Kitsune (狐) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari. Inari’s foxes are pure white and act as messengers. ↩

Ema (絵馬) are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) receive them. ↩

Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神, Oinari) is the kami (神, spirits or phenomena that are worshipped in the religion of Shinto) of foxes, of fertility, rice, tea and Sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of Shinto. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of swordsmiths and merchants. ↩

Shinto (神道 Shintō), also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous religion of Japan . It is defined as an action-centered religion, focused on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past. ↩