Research: Inari Okami and Kitsune
It is already week 7 and I am finally at the end of my research. After this I will focus my work only in the development of sketches, colour studies and final outcomes. The last kami that I chose is named Inari Okami.
Inari Okami
Inari Okami (稲荷大神) can be translated as "The Great God Inari". The name "Inari" is a short form for Ine Nari or Ine ni Naru, which derives fromo the Japanese words for "rice" and "cargo". However, some people also refers to the kami as O-Inari or Ta-no-Kami. Inari is the kami of rice, tea and also the protector of the foxes.
As I have already mentioned, the majority of the Japanese mithology was initially spread through oral tradition. This is one of the reason why different communities have different interpretations regarding the same kami. Each community sees the kami in a different way: as female, male, androgynous boghsittava, a fox or even a withered old man. This variety allowed people to embrace the kami, despite being of different faiths. And maybe this is the reason why Inari is the kami with more shrines in the whole country (1/3 of the shrines in Japan belong to Inari).
Because the kanjis in Inari's name can be translated into "carrying rice", she is normally seen as an agricultural deity. However, she became associated with not inly rice but also other grains from the Japanese diet and tea. Due to the huge importance that agriculture played in the Japan's culture, Inari quickly became popular among the population.
According to a survey made in 1985 there are a total of 32,000 shrines in Japan that are dedicated solely to Inari - this in a country where there are thousands of kamis. This shrines have normally a red torii gate in its entrance; they can be found along roadsides, fields, homes, forests, and so on.
Although might also be considered a disadvantage the fact that there are a lot of different interpretations and stories about Inari gives me a lot of space to create.
Although it gives a lot of space to create, the fact that there a lot of interpretations and stories about Inari makes the kami difficult to recognize. For this reason I decided I would do something different. However, to do something different and still connected to the kami I had to make further research, in which I found out about kitsunes.
Kitsune
A kitsune (狐, キツネ) is a multi-tailed fox which has several different powers such as shapeshifting into people, possess humans or even charm them do their bidding. The word kitsune is literally translated as fox, but these kistunes are much more than simple foxes. According to Shintoism, there are different ways of distinguishing a kistune. For example, these can from different elements (such as Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Wind, Heaven, Dark, Time, etc.) or they may have their own characteristics:
Youkai - these are similar to demons;
Myoubo - these are the messengers of the kami Inari, and can not misbehave;
Nogitsune - these are not related to the kami Inari, and for this reason they might be considered wild, which means they can choose to be good or bad;
I found this creature really interesting and I already have some ideas of what I could as the 3D outcome. I am going to start to sketch my ideas and some studies of human anatomy.
Reference:
Wright G. (n.d.) Inari [online] Mythopedia, Available from: https://mythopedia.com/japanese-mythology/gods/inari/ [Accessed 13.05.2021]
Britannica (1998) Inari [online] Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Inari [Accessed 13.05.2021]
Greenberg M. (2021) Inari Okami: The Japanese God of Success [online] Mythology Source, Available from: https://mythologysource.com/inari-okami-japanese-spirit-success/ [Accessed 18.05.2021]Vachon M. (2020) Everything to Know About the Inari Fox - Japan's Cutest Sacred Animal [online] Tsunagu Japan, Available from: https://www.tsunagujapan.com/inari-fox-japan/ [Accessed 19.05.2021]
Geller P. (2017) Kitsune [online] Mythology.net,vAvailable from: https://mythology.net/japanese/japanese-creatures/kitsune/ [Accessed 01.06.2021]
Ryan N. (2019) Beware the Kitsune, The Shapeshifting Fox of Japanese Folklore [online] Ancient Origins, Available from: https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-asia/kitsune-0012027 [Accessed 01.06.2021]
Montald I. (2018) All About Kitsune | Mythical Japanese Fox [online] WAttention, Available from: https://wattention.com/mythical-creature-kitsune/ [Accessed 01.06.2021]
Symbolsage (n.d.) Kistune - Nine Tailed Fox of Japanese Mythology [online] Available from: https://symbolsage.com/kitsune-fox-of-japanese-mythology/ [Accessed 01.06.2021]
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