Fox & Chicken Shrine

An old saying claims that, “Japanese are born Shinto, but die Buddhist.”

As our destination lecturer explained, the two religions easily coexist because Shintoism is concerned with day to day matters, while Buddhism is primarily focused on the afterlife.

That’s why Shinto shrines are tucked everywhere, but most cemeteries are Buddhist.

Kochi seems to have a special connection to poultry. We saw rooster and hen statues all over town.

A Shinto shrine we passed in the city center even had an active chicken coop housing a dozen or so birds.

The main gate at a Shinto shrine is called a “torii.” Followers bow before stepping inside, left foot first. You are also supposed to enter through the left side. This leaves the right side free for spirits, aka “kami” to pass.

Next, you stop at the “tsukubai” to wash your hands in a ceremonial fashion. The shrine in Kochi even had an illustration explaining the cleansing process.

Kochi’s shrine featured numerous fox statues along with a few maneki neko, Japan’s “good luck cat.” From what I’ve read, the red bibs stand for children who died before their parents.

I’m sure the arrows, paper and rope ornamentation all have symbolic significance, too, but I’ll have to learn about this later.Read more