Everyone wants to succeed in business. So, If you are visiting the Miyazaki Shrine Forest, it is a very good idea to visit the Gosho Inari Shrine. This shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shintoist God of business. The word “Gosho” means “five places” in Japanese. The reason is that there were five ancient shrines close to the Miyazaki Shrine which were dedicated to the God Inari. They were united in one new shrine which received the name “Gosho Inari”.
If you are an employee, for example, you might want to pray to keep your current job, pray for the extension of your contract, pray for good interpersonal relationships and safety at your work place, and so on. If you have your own business, you might want to pray for getting more clients and for safety of your business. Of course, if you are unemployed or want to start your own business, you might want to pray for the chance of starting something new and be successful.
The multiple gateways of the Inari Shrine represents “prosperity”: each gateway you leave behind represents a step towards to the success of your business.
Foxes are believed to be the messengers of Inari. When you visit this shrine, you may find offerings of sake, rice and Inari-zushi which is a sushi roll packaged with fried tofu. Fried tofu is believed to be the favorite food of Japanese foxes and normally Inari-zushi has the shape of the ear of a fox.
There is a very beautiful lake with carps surrounded by flowers such as hydrageas and Japanese wisterias which can be found in full bloom in the beginning of June. That is a very quiet part of the Miyazaki Shrine Forest where you can have a relaxing time surrounded by nature.
You can walk from the Gosho Inari Shrine to the other two shrines of the forest (the Miyazaki Shrine and the Gokoku Shrine) in less than 5 minutes. So, if you visit the Miyazaki Shrine Forest, you can make the “Sansha Mairi” which is the typical Shintoist pilgrimage consisting of visiting three shrines.
Make sure you clap your hands very loud before praying. This is the Shintoist way of waking up the God of a shrine to listen to your prayers. Personally, I visit the Inari Shrine as often as I can and I try to make sure Inari listen to my wishes.
Vocabulary
- 五所稲荷神社 (Gosho Inari Jinja) – Gosho Inari Shrine
- 稲荷大神 (Inari Ookami) – The Great God Inari
- 三社参り (Sansha Mairi) - Typical Shintoist pilgrimage to three different shrines.
Directions
1. From the Miyazaki Shrine gateway: just look for the multiple gateways of the Inari Shrine on your right-hand side.
2. From the Miyazaki Station: take the train to Sadowara, Nobeoka, Saeki or any other one going north on the Nippou Main Line and get off at the Miyazaki Jingu Station. It will take you about 5 minutes. From the exit of the station, you can see a huge gateway across from the Route 10. This gateway represents one of the entrances of the Miyazaki Shrine. Cross Route 10 and walk all the way to the shrine back entrance. Turn left and walk along the shrine walls. You will see the Miyazaki Shrine gateway and the multiple portals of the Inari Shrine. It will take you less than 15 minutes from the station.
