Confidence
| Field | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shrine name | 96% | Center large red square seal in tensho clearly reads 明竹稲荷宮 (Akenotake Inari-gū). Smaller red seal at the bottom reads 腰神不動神社 (Koshigami Fudō Jinja). The right column 伏見稲荷山 (Fushimi Inariyama) confirms the location on Mt. Inari. This is a dual-name shrine combining a Shinto Inari sub-shrine and a Buddhist Fudō Myōō altar in one site. Same goshuin design as the one separately reviewed earlier in this conversation. |
| Date | 97% | Left column reads 令和五年五月二十九日 = 29 May 2023. Same Mt. Inari pilgrimage day as entries 06–09. |
Identification
- Shinto name (Japanese): 明竹稲荷宮
- Shinto name (Romanized): Akenotake Inari-gū (sometimes Myōchiku Inari-gū)
- Buddhist name (Japanese): 腰神不動神社
- Buddhist name (Romanized): Koshigami Fudō Jinja
- Type: Combined shrine — small Inari shrine + Fudō Myōō altar, in shinbutsu-shūgō (Shinto-Buddhist syncretic) tradition
- Location: Off-trail sub-shrine on Mt. Inari (稲荷山), Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Address: 京都府京都市伏見区深草開土口町17. Reachable via a small stairway descending to the left near the 根上がりの松 (Neagari-no-Matsu / "rising-root pine") on the standard mountain trail.
- Date received: 令和五年五月二十九日 = 29 May 2023
Reading the goshuin
| Element | Reading | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 奉拝 | Hōhai — "humbly worshipped" | Top right, brush |
| 伏見稲荷山 | Fushimi Inariyama — Mt. Inari at Fushimi (locator) | Right column, brush |
| 明竹稲荷宮 (tensho) | Akenotake Inari-gū — Shinto shrine name | Center, large red square seal (4 characters in 2×2 + 宮 below) |
| 腰神不動神社 (tensho) | Koshigami Fudō Jinja — alternative Buddhist name | Lower red square seal |
| 令和五年五月二十九日 | 29 May 2023 | Left column, brush |
The goshuin is unusual in being almost entirely red seal stamps with no central brushwork — the central element is the large 明竹稲荷宮 tensho seal, not hand-written calligraphy. This is characteristic of small sub-shrines that pre-stamp their goshuin and only hand-write the date.
What this dual-named shrine actually is
This is a tiny shrine on the side of Mt. Inari that holds two religious identities simultaneously under one roof — a remnant of pre-Meiji shinbutsu-shūgō (神仏習合 — Shinto-Buddhist syncretism), where Buddhist deities and Shinto kami were freely worshipped together. After the Meiji-era 神仏分離 (separation of Shinto and Buddhism), most such combined shrines were forcibly split. This one survived intact:
Shinto identity — 明竹稲荷宮 (Akenotake Inari-gū)
A small Inari shrine — same kami family as the main Fushimi Inari Taisha (i.e., Inari Ōkami, the deity of rice and prosperity) but with its own local identity. Standard Inari blessings: business prosperity, good harvests, protection.
Buddhist identity — 腰神不動明王 (Koshigami Fudō Myōō)
A Fudō Myōō (不動明王) altar — Fudō Myōō is the wrathful guardian deity wreathed in flames, one of the Five Wisdom Kings (五大明王) of esoteric Buddhism. This particular Fudō is called 「腰神 (Koshigami)」 — literally "the lower-back deity" — and is specifically worshipped for healing pain in the lower back, hips, and legs.
The Koshigami Fudō origin story
According to the temple's tradition, this Fudō Myōō statue began as a stone lantern outside a townhouse in the area south of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. The townhouse's residents began experiencing mysterious lower-back pain that no doctor could explain. After consulting a spiritual diviner, they understood that the lantern was the source — it had absorbed bad energy and was emitting it as physical affliction.
They moved the lantern to Araki Jinja's grounds on Mt. Inari (the larger sub-shrine adjacent to this site) and enshrined it as a Fudō Myōō. From that day, the affliction stopped — and worshippers who came to the lantern with their own back/hip pain reported that their pain transferred into the Fudō statue and was absorbed by the deity's compassion.
The Koshigami Fudō has thus accumulated centuries' worth of human lower-back ailments and offers continued protection to anyone who comes with similar conditions.
Why this goshuin is uncommon
Most Fushimi Inari pilgrims never see this shrine because:
- It's off the main trail — you have to know there's a side stairway near the Neagari-no-Matsu pine.
- The adjacent Araki Jinja (荒木神社), which is more famous, does NOT issue goshuin. Casual searches for "shrine near here that gives goshuin" lead people to Araki, who turn them away. Akenotake/Koshigami issues goshuin but isn't well-publicized.
- The shrine is small — easily mistaken for a private shrine if you don't recognize the architectural style.
Receiving this goshuin signifies off-the-tourist-track Mt. Inari pilgrimage, in the same way the Gozendani goshuin (entry 09) signifies high-altitude pilgrimage.
What the blessing carries
The unique blessings:
- 腰痛・坐骨神経痛・足腰の弱り (koshi-tsū / sakotsu shinkei-tsū / ashi-koshi no yowari) — healing for lower-back pain, sciatica, hip pain, and weak legs (the Fudō's signature blessing)
- 長距離歩行の加護 (chōkyori hokō no kago) — protection for long-distance walking (very Mt. Inari-appropriate, given the mountain loop is a serious leg workout)
- General Inari blessings — prosperity and protection from the Shinto identity
In context: receiving this goshuin mid-climb on a Mt. Inari pilgrimage is a small, appropriate gesture — asking the deity for the strength to keep climbing. Many elderly visitors specifically detour here when planning to walk the full mountain loop.