attached to Shinto shrines, blurring the line between the two beliefs. It is said that in the 12th century, Prince Kangan Giin had a dream of the Buddhist goddess Dakini-Shinten riding a white fox with Dakini-Shinten thus becoming the manifestation of the Shinto goddess Ukanomitama-no-mikoto. During the separation of Buddhism from Shinto during the Meiji restoration, Buddhist Inari temples survived by asserting Kangan Giin's belief and that they primarily worshipped Dakini-Shinten, not the fox, and that their congregation was only paying respect to the fox as her companion, which allowed them to continue to honor both. Enshrined Deity Inari or Inari Okami is the Japanese kami of improvement in the performing arts, household wellbeing, business prosperity, and general prosperity. Inari is also attributed to rice, sake, tea, fertility, foxes, agriculture, and industry. The word “Inari” is an abbreviated term for “Ine Nari” or “Ine ni naru”, which translates to “reaping of rice”. The ancient Japanese word stems from the importance of rice in the daily Japanese diet and symbolizes the miracles of heaven and earth. As one of the principal deities of Shinto, Inari houses, feeds, and protects all people so that they may live a fulfilling life. Inari is one of the most widely venerated kami in Japanese culture. Shrines and offerings Architecture Inari is a popular deity associated with both Shinto and Buddhist shrines located throughout Japan. According to a 2007 report from Kokugakuin University, 2970 shrines are dedicated to Inari. This number includes only Shinto shrines that are registered as religious corporations and are a part of the Association of Shinto Shrines. Small roadside or field shrines, shrines kept in a home or corporate office, and Buddhist temples were not included in this statistic but, if they were the number might increase by a large amount. Inari worship continues to center around folk-religion practices and remains unchanged by Meiji Restorations. Inari shrines are well known and remain some of the most familiar and recognizable shrines to the Japanese people. The entrance to an Inari shrine is typically marked by one or more vermilion torii and images of foxes, which are often adorned with red yodarekake (votive bibs) by worshippers out of respect. The color red has come to be identified with Inari because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their torii. The main Inari shrine is the Fushimi Inari-taisha in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, where