Nezu Jinja – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

A Visit to Nezu Jinja, Part 2

Susan Spann Blog January 12, 2018January 14, 2018best shrines in Tokyo, Inari, Inari Okami, Japan, Nezu Jinja, Nezu Shrine, shinto shrines, Tokyo

(To read Part 1, click here.) Like many Shintō shrines in Japan, Nezu Jinja features a subshrine dedicated to Inari Ōkami, the kami (god) of foxes, rice, sake, fertility, swordsmiths, merchants, agriculture, and worldly success (among other things). There are over 10,000 Inari shrines across Japan — and with good reason, given Japan’s historical dependence upon rice as a primary source of food (and, at one time, as the measure of wealth as well).

A Visit to Nezu Jinja (Shrine), Part 1

Susan Spann Blog January 10, 2018January 10, 2018best shrines in Tokyo, Japan, Nezu Jinja, Nezu Shrine, Shinto, shinto shrines, Tokyo

Nezu Jinja lies in Tokyo’s Bunkyō ward, and has since Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi ordered the shine moved to its current location in 1705. The shrine is perhaps best known for its extensive azalea garden, which erupt in color every April (there’s even an azalea festival at the shrine each spring), but I visited for the first time last December and can attest it’s worth a visit in any season.