Goshuincho 4 · #03

掘出稲荷神社

Horidashi Inari Jinja
Type
Shinto Inari sub-shrine of Fukuoka-ken Gokoku Jinja
Date received
3rd month, 吉日 (~22 Mar 2025)
Confidence
name 97%date 80%

Confidence

Field Confidence Notes
Shrine name 97% Center calligraphy clearly reads 掘出稲荷神社 (Horidashi Inari Jinja); central red square seal in tensho also reads 掘出稲荷神社; the gold-outlined fox (kitsune) pair flanking the calligraphy and the small flame-and-jewel red emblem at top-right (a stylized hōju) are textbook Inari iconography.
Date 80% 令和七年三月吉日 (Reiwa 7, 3rd month, 吉日 / "auspicious day") — many small Inari shrines pre-date their書置き (kakioki / pre-stamped) goshuin with 吉日 instead of a specific day. The "吉日" reading is unambiguous; the specific day is not recorded on the goshuin itself. Trip context places this around 22 March 2025 (same day as Fukuoka Castle, since Horidashi Inari Jinja is adjacent to Fukuoka-ken Gokoku Jinja in Chūō).

Identification

  • Name (Japanese): 掘出稲荷神社
  • Name (Romanized): Horidashi Inari Jinja
  • Type: Shinto Inari shrine (sub-shrine adjacent to 福岡縣護国神社 / Fukuoka-ken Gokoku Jinja)
  • Enshrined deity: 稲荷大神 (Inari Ōkami) — deity of rice, agriculture, prosperity, and business
  • Location: Roppommatsu 1-1-1, Chūō Ward, Fukuoka City (immediately adjacent to Fukuoka-ken Gokoku Jinja)
  • Date received: 令和七年三月吉日 = Reiwa 7, 3rd month, auspicious day (= ~22 March 2025 by trip context)

Reading the goshuin

Element Reading Position
奉拝 Hōhai — "humbly worshipped" Top right column
掘出稲荷神社 Horidashi Inari Jinja — shrine name (calligraphy) Center, vertical brush
掘出稲荷神社 (tensho seal script) Horidashi Inari Jinja (red seal) Center, large red square seal
宝珠 + 炎 (red emblem) Hōju (sacred jewel) wreathed in flame Top right, red
令和七年三月吉日 Reiwa 7, 3rd month, auspicious day Left column
Two kitsune (gold outline) Pair of foxes flanking the central column Bottom corners, gold-line drawing
Pink-to-white gradient paper Subtle gradation washi Whole sheet

About the shrine

Horidashi Inari Jinja (literally "Dug-Up Inari Shrine") was founded after a striking incident during the Taishō era (1912–1926). According to shrine tradition, an Inari deity appeared in a dream to a Fukuoka Infantry Regiment soldier and instructed him where to dig. When the location was excavated, a small Inari sacred image (御神体 / goshintai) was unearthed — hence the name 掘出 ("dug up / excavated"). The discovered image was first venerated locally and then formally enshrined at the present site on 3 September 1952 (Shōwa 27).

The shrine sits on the southern edge of the 福岡縣護国神社 (Fukuoka-ken Gokoku Jinja) precinct in Roppommatsu. Despite its small footprint (a single haiden and a torii cluster within a tree-shaded grove), it has a steady following among Fukuoka residents seeking 商売繁盛 (shōbai hanjō / business prosperity).

What it's known for / the blessing

  • 商売繁盛 (shōbai hanjō) — business prosperity (the primary Inari blessing)
  • 五穀豊穣 (gokoku hōjō) — abundant harvest of the five grains
  • 家内安全 (kanai anzen) — household safety
  • 諸願成就 (shogan jōju) — fulfillment of various wishes

About the goshuin issuing system

Horidashi Inari Jinja is unstaffed in the conventional sense — the goshuin are pre-stamped (書置き / kakioki) on washi sheets and placed inside a lantern-shaped wooden box beside the haiden, alongside omamori. Visitors take a goshuin (and any omamori desired) and drop the corresponding 初穂料 (hatsuhoryō / offering) directly into the saisen-bako (offertory box) — an honor-system arrangement common at small Inari sub-shrines. The "吉日" date treatment fits this pre-stamped distribution model.

Sources