Koyasu Inari Shrine

So many pretty flowers were in bloom. Like these ume plums.

Not far from Kami Ikebukuro Sakura Park is a Inari Shinto Shrine.

Walking through this quiet neighborhood I reached Koyatsu Inari Shrine, 子安稲荷神社.

Their ema were really cute. It is year of the rat and so they were also wishing everyone good luck with their design.

This shrine dates from at least the Tensho era (1573-91) if not earlier.

It is said that the shrine was established by a retainer of Tokogawa who lived in the area.

He was caught in a terrible thunderstorm with no protection.

An old man with a white beard showed the retainer a place in the forest where he could be protected from the storm.

As the retainer thanked the old man, the old man told him he was a messenger of the god Inari. That if the rundown shrine was rebuilt, the messenger would protect their harvest from disasters such as fire. So the shrine was rebuilt and festivals began in thanks for the protection and to honor Inari-sama.

It is an older shrine and the statuary shows aging. The komainu did look a little newer than the kitsune foxes.

It isn't a very big shrine but it is nice to visit.

Besides saving the retainer from the storm, it is said that in 1715 there was a plague and many people were saved here by the spiritual test of the shrine.

Which is when it was given the name of Koyasu Inari Shrine. They also have a website in Japanese with more information here https://www.koyasu-inari.com/