Confidence
| Field | Confidence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shrine name | 99% | Top-right red rectangle reads 「奉拝 矢先稲荷神社」. Bottom-left red square seal reads 矢先稲荷神社 in tensho. The center calligraphy is 「福禄寿」 (Fukurokuju) — Yasaki Inari's documented Asakusa Shichifukujin assignment. Center red square seal contains 福禄寿 in tensho with Fukurokuju figure. |
| Date | 97% | Left column reads 五月二十日 = 20 May. Top-left small red rectangle reads 「宮社 六年」 = "Reiwa 6" = 2024. So the full date is 20 May 2024. Same Asakusa pilgrimage day as entries 11–15, 17, 18. |
Identification
- Name (Japanese): 矢先稲荷神社
- Name (Romanized): Yasaki Inari Jinja
- Type: Shinto Inari shrine
- Location: Matsugaya, Taitō Ward, Tokyo — between Sensō-ji and Akiba Jinja, walkable to both
- Pilgrimage: 浅草名所七福神 — 福禄寿 (Fukurokuju) station (Asakusa Famous Sites Seven Lucky Gods)
- Date received: 令和六年五月二十日 = 20 May 2024
Reading the goshuin
| Element | Reading | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 奉拝 矢先稲荷神社 (tensho) | "Humbly worshipped — Yasaki Inari Jinja" | Top right, red rectangle |
| 福禄寿 | Fukurokuju — lucky god of long life and wisdom | Center, large brush |
| 福禄寿 (tensho) + figure | Fukurokuju in seal script with deity figure | Center red square seal |
| 宮社 六年 (or similar) | "Year 6 (Reiwa)" — 2024 | Top-left red rectangle |
| 矢先稲荷神社 (tensho) | Shrine name in seal script | Bottom-left red square seal |
| 五月二十日 | 20 May | Left column, brush |
About the shrine
矢先稲荷神社 was founded in 1642 (Kan'ei 19) by Tokugawa Iemitsu (the third Tokugawa shogun) as the guardian shrine (鎮守 / chinjusha) of the 三十三間堂 (Sanjūsangen-dō) archery training hall in Asakusa.
"Yasaki" — origin of the name
「矢先 (Yasaki)」 literally means "arrow tip / arrow point" — the spot where arrows land on a target. The shrine's name comes from its physical location: it stood at the spot where the arrows were aimed during the famous 三十三間堂通し矢 (Sanjūsangen-dō Tōshiya — "Long-Distance Arrow Shooting") archery competitions. The shrine literally faced the arrows.
Sanjūsangen-dō Tōshiya — the legendary archery contest
The 三十三間堂 Tōshiya was Edo Japan's most famous archery competition. Archers would attempt to shoot arrows the entire 120-meter length of a wooden veranda without the arrow's path crossing the eaves above — an extraordinarily difficult feat. The Edo Sanjūsangen-dō (a sister hall of Kyoto's famous one) was located in Asakusa from 1642 to 1701, and Yasaki Inari was its protective shrine.
The archery contest was discontinued in 1701 when the Sanjūsangen-dō was relocated, but Yasaki Inari remains. The shrine therefore has an unusual connection to Japanese archery (弓道, kyūdō) culture and is sometimes visited by archers and martial artists.
The 100-painting ceiling
The shrine's main hall has a remarkable artistic feature: 100 paintings on the ceiling depicting the history of horsemanship in Japan, from the era of Emperor Jinmu (mythological first emperor, ~660 BCE) through the modern period. Painted by the artist 酒井三良 (Sakai Sanryō) in 1964 for the shrine's restoration. This is one of Tokyo's hidden art treasures and is rarely visited despite being remarkable.
About 福禄寿 (Fukurokuju)
Fukurokuju is one of the Seven Lucky Gods, originally derived from a Chinese Taoist immortal — possibly the Chinese star deity 寿星 (Shou Xing) or a Tang-era hermit. The name decomposes:
- 福 (fuku) — happiness, blessings
- 禄 (roku) — career, official rank, salary
- 寿 (ju) — longevity
Fukurokuju is depicted as an old man with an exaggeratedly elongated bald head, white beard, holding a staff with a scroll attached, often accompanied by a crane (longevity symbol) and sometimes a deer.
The Fukurokuju at Yasaki Inari is described in the shrine's official material as accompanied by a crane, white hair and beard, representing the ideal form of harmonious and complete good fortune — a unification of all three blessings (fortune + career + longevity) in one figure.
Blessings:
- 長寿 (chōju) — longevity
- 繁栄 (han'ei) — prosperity (especially career-related, given the 禄 component)
- 健康 (kenkō) — health
- 知恵 (chie) — wisdom
Two Fukurokuju shrines in the Asakusa Shichifukujin
The Asakusa Shichifukujin pilgrimage has 9 sites for 7 deities because two deities (Fukurokuju and Jurōjin) each have two stations. Yasaki Inari is the second Fukurokuju station; the first is 今戸神社 (Imado Jinja — Book 1, entry 03), which the user previously visited on 25 May 2023.
So across this entire goshuin collection, the user has both Fukurokuju stations of the Asakusa Shichifukujin — both the Imado and Yasaki Fukurokuju goshuin. That is unusual, since most pilgrims pick one or the other to round out their 7-deity collection rather than collecting both.
What the blessing carries
- 長寿 (chōju) — longevity
- 健康 (kenkō) — health
- 出世運 (shusse-un) — career advancement (the 禄 component)
- 諸願成就 (shogan jōju) — fulfillment of various wishes
- Asakusa Shichifukujin pilgrimage credit — Fukurokuju station #2 of 9