It has been ten years of silence since the last visitation but last night a kitsune had appeared once again. Nonetheless, even then, their messages were often unhelpfully cloaked in riddles and confusion.

This meant that their dream visitations were always of great importance, implying that the message was of sufficient gravity to warrant its direct delivery. However, these messengers rarely made their appearances in dreams, preferring instead to use trickery and illusions to deliver their messages indirectly, as they delighted in taking on their human form to blend into the mortal world. It was said that a shrine without its guardians could never prosper. The Taisha itself boasted at least half a dozen pairs, and the old master has had many dealings with them, for better or worse. They were playful but wise, never short of pranks and mischief, but devoted to their service of Inari and loyal to their mates.Ī shrine dedicated to Inari was never far from the presence of the kitsune.

In fact, their ties to Inari-sama were so close that certain kitsune were chosen to be his messengers and guardians of his shrines. It was the greatest honour that could be bestowed upon any Shinto priest, since the Taisha was situated in Kyoto, the capital city of Japan, and was an object of imperial patronage, with a long history of generous contributions from emperors and noble families to its expansion and upkeep.īut in the nine decades of his service since he was a novice priest, in the multitude of spiritual revelations and insights he had been given, he could count on two hands the number of times he had been visited by the faithful messengers of Inari-sama in his dreams.Īlthough Inari-sama was well-known as the kami of rice and prosperity, he was also the deity of foxes, or kitsune. He had been charged with the care of this shrine many years ago. He was seated in the hall of the inner shrine, stroking his long silvery beard as he waited for the student he had summoned just moments ago.įor now, he was grateful for the transient serenity of the hall, to be left alone with his thoughts. It began one day with the master of Fushimi Inari Taisha, who was the caretaker of the grandest and oldest place of worship dedicated to the great deity, Inari Ōkami. A tale that is fraught with the mischief and kindness of the kitsune spirit. A tale that tells of a courageous young priest and his uncanny determination. It is a tale that tells of the restoration of the Hasetsu shrine, and the many troubles in its path. In the Heian period, under the reign of the Emperor Murakami, a tale of much intrigue unfolded by the coasts of Japan, in the small town of Hasetsu.

Grim dawn map showing unrestored shrine