Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area is known for its historic atmosphere, with many old buildings still standing.
If you’re going to visit a place with such a rich history, why not explore somewhere that lets you feel the history of the area?
The best-known historical spots around the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area include Achi Shrine and Kanryuji Temple.
However, there are also hidden gems beyond these.
One of them is “Shiroyama Inari Shrine.”
As its name suggests, Kurashiki once had a castle on Shiroyama.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is very small, but it preserves the history of a castle once standing in the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area.
Few people know that Kurashiki once had a castle.
Here, we introduce Shiroyama Inari Shrine and its history.
The information presented was accurate when this article was published in January 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is a small shrine in the Kurashiki Ivy Square parking lot
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is located in the Kurashiki Ivy Square parking lot, east of the main gate of Kurashiki Ivy Square.
It is just south of the building of Floral Court, an annex of Kurashiki Ivy Square.
▼Among the parking spaces, you can see an area thick with trees.
That is where Shiroyama Inari Shrine stands.
▼The shrine building is very small, so from a distance it is hard to make out among the trees.
You probably wouldn’t imagine there was a shrine in a place like this.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine was first built during the Sengoku period as a branch shrine of what is now Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine.
Its original site was on the eastern side of the grounds of what is now Kurashiki Ivy Square.
However, it was relocated to make way for the construction of KURABO INDUSTRIES LTD. in the mid-Meiji period.
It was moved again to its present location during the Taisho period.
The Kurabo factory site is now Kurashiki Ivy Square.
Highlights of Shiroyama Inari Shrine
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is small, but it has the following highlights.
Let’s take a look at them one by one.
A row of vermilion-painted torii gates
Several vermilion-painted torii gates line the path from the front of the Floral Court building.
Famous rows of torii gates include the “Senbon Torii” at Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine, as well as Motonosumi Shrine in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Fukutoku Inari Shrine in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
▼Compared with those, this row is much smaller and has far fewer gates, but walking along the approach somehow makes you feel more focused.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine originally began as a branch shrine of Fushimi Inari.
Perhaps it has some connection to the Senbon Torii at Fushimi Inari.
▼After walking about 15 meters along the path lined with torii gates, it turns at a right angle to the left (east).
▼After the turn, the torii gates continue all the way to the shrine building.
A stone torii gate from the late Edo period
The approach is lined with vermilion-painted torii gates, but just after it turns at a right angle, there is a single “stone torii gate.”
The gate is inscribed with the year 1808, showing that it was built in the late Edo period.
It is a valuable relic that predates the shrine’s relocation for the construction of Kurabo in the Meiji period.
Stone lanterns from the early Meiji period
Two “stone lanterns” stand on either side in front of the shrine building.
▼The stone lanterns are inscribed with the year 1869.
Like the stone torii gate, these date from before the relocation in the mid-Meiji period.
Fox statues from the late Edo period
Shrines often have komainu (guardian lion-dogs), but Inari shrines have “fox statues” instead.
▼Shiroyama Inari Shrine also has two fox statues in front of the shrine building.
The pedestal of the fox statue is inscribed “November, 1834,” dating it to the late Edo period.
Like the stone torii gate and stone lanterns, these are relics from before the relocation that remain to this day.
Shrine building
The shrine building at Shiroyama Inari Shrine is very small.
It was not possible to confirm when this shrine building was constructed.
Camphor Tree
The area around the shrine building is covered with trees such as camphor trees and pines.
The camphor tree is Kurashiki City's official tree.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine, surrounded by the city's official tree, seems to have a special significance.
In particular, the camphor tree to the left (north) of the shrine building, when facing it, looked quite old.
Wisteria Trellis
Wisteria is Kurashiki City's official flower.
On the left side of the path leading toward the Floral Court building, there is a row of wisteria trellises.
According to the information sign, even kingfishers, Kurashiki City's official bird, sometimes fly here.
There Are No Goshuin at Shiroyama Inari Shrine
When I asked someone at Kurashiki Ivy Square about Shiroyama Inari Shrine, I was told that there is no priest in charge of it.
Therefore, there are no goshuin at Shiroyama Inari Shrine.
Who Is Enshrined at Shiroyama Inari Shrine, and What Blessings Does It Offer?
Shrines are places where deities are enshrined, right?
It makes you wonder which deity (enshrined deity) Shiroyama Inari Shrine enshrines.
And what kind of blessings does it offer?
In fact, Inari shrines enshrine a deity called Ukanomitama (written in kanji as 宇迦之御魂, among other forms).
So Shiroyama Inari Shrine also enshrines Ukanomitama.
Ukanomitama is the deity of food, grain, and agriculture.
For this reason, the deity is said to bring blessings of abundant harvests, and, by extension, business prosperity and industrial prosperity.
The word “uka” means “food” in old Japanese, “mi” (御) is a prefix expressing sacredness, and “tama” means soul.
In other words, Ukanomitama means “the soul of food.”
Incidentally, the name Inari comes from “inenari,” meaning “rice grows.”
The kanji characters 稲荷, 稲成, 稲生, and 飯生, among others, were assigned to “inenari,” and the pronunciation eventually changed to “inari.”
As the name suggests, Inari was originally a deity of rice cultivation.
Over time, Inari and Ukanomitama, the deity of food, came to be regarded as the same deity.
The History of Shiroyama Inari Shrine
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is a small shrine today, but it has a long history.
Here, we introduce the history of Shiroyama Inari Shrine.
There Was Once a Mountain East of Kurashiki Ivy Square
The area that is now the eastern half of the Kurashiki Ivy Square grounds was once home to a small hill covered in forest.
The small hill was named after the area and called “Kurashikiyama.”
There is also a tradition that Kobori Enshu, who became the Bitchu deputy in the early Edo period, built a teahouse there, so it was also called “Chayama.”
In fact, a castle once stood on Kurashikiyama.
For this reason, Kurashikiyama was also called “Shiroyama” (hereafter referred to as Shiroyama).
Shiroyama Was Home to What Is Said to Be the Only Castle in the Bikan Historical Area
The castle on Shiroyama is said to have been built as one of the bases of operations by Ono Yoshifuru, who distinguished himself in the “Rebellion of Fujiwara no Sumitomo” in the early Heian period.
After that, descendants of the Ono clan used it as a base.
The castle was called “Kurashiki Castle,” “Kurashikiyama Castle,” and “Ono Castle,” among other names.
It is considered to have been the only castle in what is now central Kurashiki City (the original Kurashiki).
Shiroyama Inari Shrine Originated in the Sengoku Period
Shiroyama Inari Shrine is said to have originated in 1493, during the Sengoku period, when Ono Yoshinobu, the castle lord at the time, built a shrine on Shiroyama as the tutelary deity of the Ono family (a guardian deity of the clan), as a branch shrine of Fushimi Inari in present-day Kyoto City.
Later, in 1619, in the early Edo period, it was named “Shiroyama Inari Daimyojin,” and eventually came to be called by its present name, “Shiroyama Inari Shrine.”
Shiroyama also came to be known by the alternate name “Inariyama.”
It was originally the Ono family's tutelary deity, but by the Edo period it had become widely cherished by the residents of the Kurashiki area.
For example, Shiroyama and Shiroyama Inari can be seen in the following illustrated maps:
- Bird's-eye view of Kurashiki Village (estimated to have been made in the mid-Edo period)
- Kowari map (late Edo period: 1863)
- Map of Shiroyama Inari Shrine (1869)
The maps also show that there was a Hachimangu Shrine at the foot of Shiroyama.
Kurashiki Castle had been abandoned by the Edo period. In 1746, in the mid-Edo period, the Kurashiki Magistrate's Office was built on the west side of Kurashikiyama and became the base of the magistrate dispatched by the Edo shogunate.
The Ono family also became village headmen of Kurashiki Village.
When Kurashiki Prefecture was established in the early Meiji period, the Kurashiki Magistrate's Office was used as the Kurashiki Prefectural Office.
The Shrine Was Relocated During the Construction of Kurabo in the Mid-Meiji Period
Later, in 1888, Shiroyama was leveled to build KURABO INDUSTRIES LTD. on the former site of the Kurashiki Magistrate's Office and Kurashiki Prefectural Office.
As a result, Shiroyama Inari was relocated to Mukouichiba-cho.
It is said to have been located around the area just west of the west gate of Kurashiki Ivy Square today.
It was then moved again to its present location in 1914.
▼Shiroyama Inari Shrine is also enshrined as a subordinate shrine within the grounds of Achi Shrine.
From the Writer
Achi Shrine is the best-known shrine around the Bikan Historical Area in Kurashiki.
However, Shiroyama Inari Shrine is also an important shrine when telling the story of Kurashiki's history.
The name “Shiroyama” tells us to this day that there was once a castle in Kurashiki and a mountain on the site of Kurashiki Ivy Square.
Shiroyama Inari Shrine stands quietly in the Kurashiki Ivy Square parking lot.
Surrounded by Kurashiki's official tree, flower, and bird, it gives the impression of being a special place.
Though it is a small shrine, why not stop by Shiroyama Inari Shrine to pray during your sightseeing?
Shiroyama Inari Shrine Information
| Name | Shiroyama Inari Shrine |
|---|---|
| Location | 16-1-1 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | None |
| Parking | None |
| Enshrined deity | Ukanomitama-no-Kami |
| Blessings | Abundant harvests, business prosperity, industrial prosperity |
| Goshuin (offering fee) | None |
| Visiting hours | All day |
| Reception hours | None |
| Closed | None |
| Admission | None |
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