Ritual

The God of Fox: Oinari-sama

Animals and plants have spirits. This way of thinking is called animism. In my hometown, there are many people who believe in it. Thus, there are a lot of stone monuments called “Soumokutou” in many places. These are the symbols of animism. Especially my neighbors believe that many animal gods such as the fox god Oinari-sama, the god of rich harvest, the snake god Obenten-sama, the god of health, the deer god, which rules over the forests and mountains, and the raccoon god, which rules over rivers. It is said that the fox god is one of the strongest gods in nature. In my neighborhood, there are big ritual festivals for the fox god twice a year, in the spring and fall. There are things that my neighbors do every festival, and there is an unwritten rule from long ago that people have to keep.

People believe in and pray to the fox god because there are many fields of crops in my hometown. On the festival day, people make a lot of dangos (dumplings) which are made of rice to give to the fox god. Also, they set up special flags and lanterns along the street as people parade down it with the Shinto priests before they go to the shrine to pray to the fox god. Then, people gather at the square in front of the shrine and pray to the fox god to give them a lot of crops and stable life. After that, they enjoy chatting and eating dangos.

Almost all the families in my neighborhood have at least one small shrine for the fox god in their home. My family for instance has two small shrines in our garden. One is, of course, for the fox god and the other for the snake god. My family believes that these gods protect our home and our health. So on the festival day, my family offers many dangos to the gods. Then they put candles in front of the dangos and pray to the gods. Likewise, my grandmother puts a little amount of rice every morning on both of the shines. That is, my family prays to the god not only on the festival day but also in daily life.

It is said that the fox hates dogs. Thus people believe if they have a dog, they would become cursed. I also believe in this curse and in the existence of the fox god. That's because I’ve heard a story of a family who had lived in my neighborhood for a long time that had a pet dog. I clearly remember that their family name was Adachi. Because my home town is very small, every one knows the story about them. It was very strange that soon after they got a dog, the family had a lot of misfortune. For example, both grandparents died from cancer even though they looked very healthy before having the pet dog. The husband was killed in a traffic accident, and nobody knows about the wife. She suddenly disappeared. Actually, even her parents weren’t sure where she was. The dog also died under the house. Their dilapidated house is still in my neighborhood. That story makes me scared. So, I don’t want to have a pet dog in my hometown.

Even though the above rituals and beliefs are very old, people still believe in the existence of and honor the animal gods with festivals. The festival is now a symbol of tradition in my neighborhood. In addition, the festivals give my neighbors and me good opportunities to communicate each other. Because my hometown is very small and surrounded by huge mountain rages, people have had to cooperate each other. Therefore, it has been important to live together in harmony since long time ago. I hope these festivals should be continued not only as a symbol of tradition but also in the role of bridge of friendship in my neighborhood.