Note 47 — Annals of a Year.

Inari. Goddess of rice (written with the two characters 稲荷 = “rice bearing”). Inari is sometimes spoken of as the “fox-deity,” but the foxes appear to be mere guards to the temples dedicated to the Goddess. There is more or less confusion as to the sex of Inari as sometimes “she” (sic) is represented as a bearded man!