Kitsune of Saijo Inari

Kitsune, foxes, are the messengers of the kami Inari, so statues of them can be found at all Inari shrines and temples. Like Komainu, there are a variety of different designs and styles.
All of these photos are from Saijo Inari in Okayama.

Most kitsune statues are carved in stone, but here there were many large ones of clay. I believe they are known as Bizen style.

There were a pair of strange looking ones made of concrete!!

Often the kitsune will have a scroll in its mouth. The scroll contains wisdom.

Occasionally there will also be komainu as well as kitsune.

Small ceramic kitsune are left as offerings, along with sake (omiki)

Saijo Inari

The Niomon at Saijo Inari is most unusual. It is built of stone in the style of an Indian Palace.

The nio are quite remarkable, though taking photos of them is hindered by the wire grill protecting them.

Saijo Inari is often considered on of the top three Inari in Japan. It is located a little off the Kibi Bike Path, and well worth the detour.

Saijo Inari is officially a temple named Myokyo-Ji, and is sometimes known as Takamatsu Inari.

According to legend it was originally founded in the 8th Century as a Tendai temple. In the 16th Century it became a Nichiren temple, and in 1954 it became the head temple of its own separate sect known as Saijo Inarikyo.

According to the founding legend the founder of the temple, a monk known as Hoon Daishi, had a vision involving a deity riding a flying white fox, though it is quite possible that this is a Meiji-era invention created after the separation of the buddhas and kami.

Also worshipped here along with Inari is the Lotus Sutra, and behind the main hall of the temple the cliff has been sculpted supposedly into a sculpture based on the Lotus Sutra.

The tallest torii in Japan

This is not the tallest torii in Japan! It is probably the 4th tallest. It is on the road to Saijo Inari in Okayama Prefecture and is 28 meters high.

It is 3 meters higher than the torii at Yasukuni Shrine which many websites falsely claim is the highest in Japan. Apparently the Yasukuni website makes this claim, but if you believe anything that place says you are asking to be lied to.

Many websites claim that the torii leading to Heian Jingu in Kyoto is the tallest in Japan, but it is only 24 meters high.

Taller than Saijo Inari torii is the Yahiko Shrine torii in Niigata. It is 30 meters high.

Probably the second-tallest torii in Japan at 32 meters is this one at Omiwa in Nara. ( when I first researched Omiwa about 8 years ago it was the highest)

But, as far as I can ascertain the tallest torii in Japan, built in 2003, and with a height of 33 meters is at Kumano Hongu Taisha in Wakayama.

Try typing "tallest torii in Japan" into any search engine and see how long it takes you find these statistics......