Nagoya Shrine Visit Report 2025 Mizuho No.26 Shimokawa Inari Shrine
A Vermilion Approach in a Narrow Urban Gap: Shimokawa Inari Shrine, December 17, 2025
On December 17, 2025, I visited Shimokawa Inari Shrine in Mizuho Ward, Nagoya. It sits in an astonishingly tight space—an urban “leftover” strip pressed between a condominium and a rental apartment building. Yet the site feels carefully maintained, not accidental.
A stone torii marks the entrance, with a shimenawa rope stretched across it. The moment I stepped through, the street noise seemed to soften. The approach quickly becomes a concentrated sequence of vermilion: torii → vermilion torii → banners. Even though the walk is short, the repetition of red forms creates the feeling of a proper sacred approach.
At the back stands a compact sanctuary structure with a formal curtain. The grounds are small, but the layout is clean and intentional—your gaze is drawn straight toward the inner focus. It does not feel “simple because it is small.” It feels organized because it is small.
The Moment It Turns Into a Historic Place
This is not only a small Inari site. It is also spoken of as a place connected to Fujiwara no Moronaga. The moment his name appears, the shrine gains another layer—history settles onto the vermilion corridor.
During the political upheaval known as the Jisho 3 Coup (1179), Moronaga fell from power and was said to have been sent from Kyoto to Owari (Nagoya). A man who once lived at the center of sound and power in the capital may have spent his days in Owari feeling the weight of time itself. What seems like distant court politics suddenly feels local—like an event that “landed” here and never fully disappeared.
Tradition says that he was later permitted to return to Kyoto three years after his exile (1182), and that he died in 1192 at the age of 55. Placed against that timeline, this narrow red corridor feels less like a small shrine and more like a coordinate on a much larger historical map.
Fujiwara no Moronaga, Beyond Politics
Moronaga was a high-ranking court noble who rose to the level of chancellor. But the story does not end with exile. Another core axis of his life is music, especially the biwa.
He is remembered not only as a political figure but also as a person of music—praised as a master performer and associated with the shaping of transmission and teaching traditions. His religious name, Myoon-in, is often linked to devotion connected with sound and music. Even after political defeat, his identity endured in cultural memory—echoing beyond official rank.
Exile Memory as Local Tradition
The original residence itself is not preserved as a building. What remains is a combination of tradition, markers, and the continuity of place. Stories persist that he lived in this area during exile and carried the capital in his thoughts.
Cities renew themselves. Buildings are replaced; streets are widened; neighborhoods shift. Yet the fact that this story still clings to this narrow plot gives the land a thicker texture—like a memory that refuses to be overwritten.
An Inari Shrine: Two Fox Statues
As an Inari shrine, it has two fox statues. There were no komainu and no stone lanterns. The foxes carry the entire guardianship of the space—and they look sharp. With their presence, the whole site “locks in” and feels complete.
Small, But Clearly Maintained
Shimokawa Inari Shrine is truly small, set inside a modern urban squeeze. But the stone torii, the vermilion sequence, the banners, and the two fox statues all communicate the same message: this place is still alive, still cared for, still held in shape.
Here, value is not measured in size. It is measured in how well the place is kept.
Note on Relocation (Theory; Details Limited)
It is said that the shrine was relocated from an earlier site due to urban changes such as road construction and land readjustment. As for the relocation timeline, no primary source that clearly states the exact year could be confirmed. However, some references introduce a theory that it was moved in 1926 due to road work and later moved again in 1939 as roads were expanded. Further details remain unclear, and the timeline should be treated as a theory rather than a confirmed fact.
Last updated: 2025-12-17 (JST)