Talk:Inari Ōkami

Torii
This sentence:


 * The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion torii and some statues of kitsune, which are usually adorned with red bibs out of respect.

could be misunderstood to mean that vermilion torii (or just torii in general) are specific to Inari shrines. Any ideas how we can rewrite this? TomorrowTime 11:19, 15 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure there's a need. That red color is heavily, perhaps almost exclusively, associated with Inari.  Will be sourcing that in the rewrite, but among others, Smyers, The Fox and the Jewel, p. 177. Shimeru 19:31, 15 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Hm... I was under the impression that there is no real corelation between vermilion torii and Inari... Off the top of my head, Heian Jingu in Kyoto's got them bright red torii, and I'm sure there's plenty of other non-Inari shrines like that. But those are my personal observations, of course, so I could as well be way off mark. Oh well, you live, you learn. Thanks for clearing that up. TomorrowTime 16:02, 16 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I'm seeking out further sources to be certain. There probably is a need to clarify, either way. Shimeru 19:24, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * In that case, let me add another personal observation. I've only seen those "torii tunnels" (like the one in the picture in the article) in perhaps three or four shrines, and I think they might have all been inari shrines. I'm, let's say, about 75% percent sure they were all inari shrines. Maybe such rows of torii are an inari specific? TomorrowTime 16:33, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

I live in Zushi city withing walking distance from Kamakura and I know for a fact that vermilion torii are not exclusive to Inari shrines. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu has one and it is dedicated to the god Hachiman. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3102.html —Preceding unsigned comment added by Miyashita (talk • contribs) 19:41, 5 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I lived in Okinawa for two years and was told by the locals that red is just a very popular color in Japanese culture. If I remember correctly, it is because the sun is believed to rise in Japan and red is its color. If you notice, if you have ever been to Japan, that almost all merchandise colored red is more expensive than any other color and in the planning of any event or decorative endeavor red has the most prominent place.

Link
External link "Essay on Inari" on the bottom doesn't exist any more, or it has invalid host name (server down?) Just check: http://www.antiisland.net/library/reader.dtsl?book=1097546942&chapter=1 Pity.

Article review
This is the kind of article I would like to see submitted for a GA nom more often. While it falls short of featured article standards, it certainly meets the good article standards without question.


 * 1) Well-written. An editor with no knowledge of the topic could read this article and easily understand what is being discussed. Special terms used in the article are given nice brief explanations and wikilinked for further reading. Easy, pleasant and interesting to read.
 * 2) Factually accurate and verifiable. Well-cited article. Perhaps could use a few more citations here and there, but nothing particularly stands out as missing in that regard.
 * 3) Broad in coverage. Nicely covers the bases, giving a solid overall view. It could expand a bit explaining a bit more about the place of Inari in modern culture and worship.
 * 4) NPOV. This article is excellant in that regard, simply reporting the facts.
 * 5) Stable. This article is stable.
 * 6) Images. Excellant use of images. They give a good feels to the article.

Pass. Great article. Interesting and easy read. Nicely fits the GA standards. Vassyana 09:59, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

move?
Shouldn't this be moved to "Inari (deity)" - ∅  ( ∅ ), 04:46, 20 April 2007 (UTC)


 * It used to be at (god). It seems that (mythology) is the standard, though; see Jupiter (mythology), Eris (mythology), and so forth.  I suppose we could go the Thor route, and make the deity the base article with a disambiguation link at the top, but I'm not certain the mythological figure is the most common usage, considering the existence of Inari, Finland. Shimeru 21:43, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

I was under the impression that Inari is also the god associated with Sake. I love sake :)


 * I find "mythology" to be offensive. It seems to be applied liberally to Hindu, Shinto or Buddhist figures, but to Jewish or Christian ones, not so much.  Look up Abraham, Isaac or Saint Christopher.  The articles liberally admit that they are more likely metaphorical than historical, but nobody bothers to stick a "mythology" tag on them.  Doesn't that seem a bit racist? Ninquerinquar 23:48, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

I whole heartedly agree with Ninquerinquar. Inari is a deity in a live religion with tens of millions so why is it stated as mythology? I bet if I went to the article on Jesus Christ and made it Jesus Christ(mythology) it would create an uproar in amongst the Christians.


 * The place where it has been put has nothing to do with the fact that Inari is still worshiped today. It is in the perfect place for most users to find it. There is a higher chance that anyone looking for information on Inari or Japanese mythology would look under the mythology tag. It is a way that most Americans think of deities now days from the way schools have taught them growing up. Most people associate anything that has to do with gods and deities as being mythological. The only question is, do you want to please people who feel Inari got the shaft or do want people who know nothing about Inari to be able to find him/her? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.28.162.155 (talk) 19:20, 15 September 2008 (UTC)


 * "It is a way that most Americans think of deities" -- Wikipedia is not an American website. Either all gods should be listed as "Mythology" where there's any ambiguity, or none should; claiming some gods are "Mythology" and others are not is not NPOV.  That said, if I was looking for information on "Inari" specifically, I would search for "Inari", not "Japanese mythology".  And if I did look up "Japanese mythology", I'd see the info box with "list of Japanese deities" near the bottom, and click that.  So it's fine as is. PsyMar (talk) 17:10, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Learning Japanese etymology
When ine (rice) (稲) gives an ear, it is just a season with much lightning　and rain in Japan. The lightning was written as ina-zuma (speech-sound redistribution of tsuma) (稲夫) in ancient Japanese Kanji usage. tsuma (夫)　means a husband. It is thought that the etymology of "ina-zuma" was from "hasbund makes rice pregnant".

Also the thunder is written as kami·nari (雷). It is thought that the etymology of "kami·nari" is a compound noun　of "kami" (god) (神) and "nari" (coming) (成り) or "nari" (roaring) (鳴り).

The "kaminari" includes "inari", same sound of Inari god (稲荷); but it never be proved, unfortunately only a attractive coincidence.

By the way, the lightning became to be written as (稲妻) in Japanese Kanji. tsuma (妻)　means a wife. The lightning was male at first, then became female in Japan, a ha! At the same time　of gender change, the pronunciation of the kanji means husband, became to "otto". It is not a strange incident.

A famous messenger to the ancient chinese dynasty "Sui" from Shotoku taishi (Prince Shōtoku) (聖徳太子)　written in Nihon Shoki (Japan's the second oldest history book among the existings.) (日本書紀), Ono no Imo·ko (小野妹子) was male. "Imo·uto" (妹) means a younger sister in chinese "mei" from a beginning, and also same in japanese since a thousand years ago, but the old days more of Japan, in the age of Ono and the Prince were living, "imo" meant a loved one, regardless of sex. When the kanji sets of husband and wife (夫妻) and old/young brother and sister (兄弟姉妹) were brought into Japan from China at first, their exact meanings were not brought together, it is thought. -- Wikiwatcher ja (talk) 00:23, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

health deity
This is in Category:Health deities but tat doesn't seem to be mentioned in the article. Is she sometimes seen as one or is that an incorrect category? Sticky Parkin 02:08, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Chinese dwarves?
But it is known that small chinese dwarves often use inari fox toys as disguises to go under cover and gain intelligence on other countries.

Wait, what? Citation desperately needed.

I'm pretty sure this is vandalism, despite being quite entertaining. 173.49.253.29 (talk) 14:26, 28 July 2015 (UTC)


 * Yeah, somehow went unfixed for 3 weeks. I've gone ahead and reverted it. PsyMar (talk) 17:04, 31 July 2015 (UTC)

Dionysus?
For reasons that are not made clear in the article, under the See Also heading, there is a link to the Greek god of ecstatic dance, wine and theater. Is there a connection between Dionysus and Inari other than wine? Because almost every culture around the world that imbibes wine has, at some point, a saint or god/dess connected to it. French wine makers bless Vincent of Saragossa. Amphictyonis personified the fermented grape. If rice wine is the brew Inari is known for then wouldn't the Chinese god of rice wine, Yi-ti, be a better fit? Could whoever saw fit to link this article to Dionysus at least add a sentence explaining what the connection is? Cheers! Xenomorph erotica (talk) 01:06, 7 June 2017 (UTC)

Dolls
I think there should be a mention of the Inari Fox dolls on here. Photos of the dolls have gone viral and are commonly mislabeled as being real animals. 97.116.64.212 (talk) 16:06, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

Myths?
Most articles for deities usually include myths and legends that involve the god, why does this article not include myths or legends?CycoMa (talk) 03:22, 26 December 2020 (UTC)

Short citations
The short citations do not include the year of publication, even though we have 3 separate sources by the same author. This is going to pose a problem for GAR and should be fixed by someone who knows which source they were referring to... Skyerise (talk) 12:27, 16 December 2023 (UTC)