Kasama Inari Shrine (笠間稲荷神社)

Kasama Inari Shrine holds the highest possible court rank a shrine can receive — Senior First Grade — a distinction awarded to only a handful of Inari shrines in Japan’s 30,000-shrine Inari network. This means that in the intricate hierarchy of shrine status established during the Heian period, Kasama Inari stands equal to Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Toyokawa Inari in Aichi as one of the Three Great Inari Shrines of Japan. The shrine sits in the castle town of Kasama in Ibaraki Prefecture, where its annual Chrysanthemum Festival transforms the entire precincts into a sculpted garden of thousands of blooms trained into shapes of peacocks, dragons, and imperial crests — a tradition that draws half a million visitors each October and November.

Kasama Inari was founded in 651 CE during the reign of Emperor Kōtoku, making it one of the oldest Inari shrines in eastern Japan. According to shrine records, the kami appeared to the local governor in a dream and commanded that a shrine be built on Mount Inari in Kasama to protect the region’s harvests. The shrine gained prominence during the Kamakura period when the Kasama clan, who controlled the surrounding domain, made it their tutelary shrine. In 1590, when Tokugawa Ieyasu’s forces conquered the Kasama domain during the unification of Japan, the shrine maintained its status and continued to receive patronage from successive lords. Its elevation to Senior First Court Rank came in the late Edo period, cementing its position as one of the principal Inari shrines in the nation. The current main hall dates to 1860 and survived the turbulent Meiji Restoration intact.

Ukanomitama no Mikoto (宇迦之御魂神) is the primary deity enshrined here, the kami of agriculture, fertility, and prosperity. This deity appears in the Kojiki as the child of Susanoo and Kamu-Ōichihime, embodying the divine force that ensures abundant harvests and material success. At Kasama, Ukanomitama is particularly venerated for business prosperity and wealth accumulation. The shrine’s fox messengers (kitsune) are depicted throughout the grounds in stone, some holding jewels representing wishes granted, others carrying scrolls symbolizing divine wisdom. The shrine also enshrines Ōnamuchi no Mikoto and Kotoshironushi no Mikoto as supporting deities, both associated with nation-building and commerce.

The central legend tells of the white fox that guided the shrine’s founding. In 651, a celestial white fox appeared to the regional governor and led him through the forested hills to a sacred spring on Mount Inari. The fox spoke in a human voice, identifying itself as a messenger of Ukanomitama, and commanded that a shrine be built on that spot to protect the rice fields of the Kantō plain. The governor obeyed, and in the first harvest after the shrine’s completion, the region produced rice yields triple the previous year despite drought affecting neighboring provinces. The white fox was seen once more, sitting at the shrine gate on the harvest moon, before vanishing into legend. To this day, the sacred spring — called Mitarashi Spring — flows behind the main hall, and visitors drink its water for purification and business success.

The main hall (honden) is an elegant example of late-Edo gongen-zukuri architecture, built in 1860 with intricate carvings of foxes, peonies, and phoenixes covering the eaves and pillars. The shrine’s rōmon gate, rebuilt in 1961, stands at the base of a steep stone staircase lined with over 100 vermilion torii donated by businesses from across Japan. Unlike Fushimi Inari’s mountain tunnels of gates, Kasama’s torii form a ceremonial approach that ascends through maple and cedar forest to the main precincts. The shrine grounds contain a garden called Rakuchū-tei, designed in the Edo period with a pond shaped like the character for “heart” (心), surrounded by sculpted pines and camellias. The most distinctive feature is the Kiku Matsuri exhibition hall, where the annual chrysanthemum sculptures are displayed in tiered arrangements that can reach four meters in height.

• Hatsuuma Festival (First Horse Day of February) — Celebrates the shrine’s founding with ceremonial rice offerings and processions of priests carrying sacred sake to the inner sanctuary, attended by thousands seeking business blessings for the coming year.
• Kasama Chrysanthemum Festival (October–November) — The shrine’s signature event, where over 10,000 chrysanthemums are trained and sculpted into elaborate shapes including life-sized recreations of famous scenes from Japanese history and mythology, transforming the grounds into a living exhibition.
• Reitaisai Grand Festival (September 23) — The annual thanksgiving festival featuring mikoshi processions through Kasama’s historic streets, traditional kagura performances, and offerings of the year’s first rice harvest.
• New Year’s Three Days (January 1-3) — Draws over 800,000 visitors making hatsumode prayers, with the approach roads lined with food stalls selling inari-zushi and sweet sake.

October through November during the Chrysanthemum Festival, when the shrine becomes a living sculpture garden and the surrounding maple forest turns deep crimson. The chrysanthemum masters begin their cultivation work in spring, training each plant through summer so that thousands of blooms open simultaneously in October. Arrive early morning before 9 AM to photograph the chrysanthemum displays in soft light without crowds. Late November offers the best autumn foliage along the torii-lined approach, though the chrysanthemum exhibits are winding down. For business blessings, Hatsuuma in early February is the traditional pilgrimage day, though expect large crowds of entrepreneurs and company delegations.