Jozan Inari Jinja is yet another shrine located on the grounds of Matue Castle. Though many visitors might miss it if they’re not careful, this shrine is known not only for an abundance of fox figurines of varying sizes, but also for the Shikinen Shinkôsai Matsuri, a festival including close to one hundred boats, dancers, prayers, and it’s only once every ten years.

For the casual: 6. For the educated: 6.

If you like foxes then this is a shrine for you. Many Inari shrines are adorned with multiple fox figures, but very few have such an impressive collection. Some figures, like Agyo and Ngyo, are quite large, but some of the smaller shrines have dozens of small white ceramic figures. Apparently this shrine was also a personal favorite location of Lefcadio Hern, a noted author born in Greece but raised in Ireland, England, and France. He arrived in Japan at the age of 40 and fell in love with the country and most importantly with mystical folk tales about yokai. When he wasn’t teaching English at a number of schools in Matsue, he documented the vivid and wonderfully frightening folk tales of rural Japan.

When I visited I had an encounter with a yokai in a way that I can’t properly make heads of tales of, and to be honest I don’t really want to. Let me first say that I am a fan of yokai stories and folklore and though there isn’t much on the island where I live, there is a great deal to be found in the various country towns around Japan. Shimane is known for having a strong connection with the spiritual realm since from ancient times Shimane, and in particular Izumo, is known for being the land where the gods first step foot in the realm of mortals once created by Izanagi and Izanami. So with this in mind, I was already jazzed about where I was, the temples and shrines I was visiting, and I also had my eye out for references to folklore. When I arrived at Jozan Inari, I was alone. I had passed the other visitors on the way in and the cars parked at the bottom of the stairs were gone once I reached the top of the stairs. So I felt like I had this moment to really enjoy this lovely shrine and all that was there. Though the shrine was open to visitors, the offices were closed so I couldn’t get a goshuin, and just at that moment it started to rain. Thinking the entire scenario was rather silly and ill-timed, I just laughed and started having a conversation in Japanese with myself, but also thinking I was talking to the foxes themselves. If you don’t know, foxes can be yokai and as yokai they are known for shape-shifting and pulling pranks on people. So with that in mind, I enjoyed encouraging the idea that this was all the work of some foxes having some fun, so I decided to enjoy it as well. When the rain finally began to die down, I made my way over to the gate at the top of the stairs to leave. When I turned back around to bow, thanking the gods for letting me enter, I saw what I can only assume was a ghost or at least an illusion: I saw a Noh performer with a woman’s face mask dressed in white with a black obi standing in the office space I was just standing at. Feeling a bit shocked, I bowed, and then left. I’m not sure what I saw was real, but it seemed real enough to me in the moment. All the same, I walked away feeling that I had been pranked by a fox, an idea that made me smile all the way home.