【简译】稻荷神（Inari）

2022-09-07 21:17 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

Inari is the Shinto god of rice, the protector of food, and bringer of prosperity. He has over 40,000 shrines dedicated to him large and small across Japan, the oldest and most important of which is the Fushimi Inari Shrine near Kyoto with its famous red torii gates and fox statues in honour of the animal which is considered the god's messenger and guardian.

稻荷神是神道教中的米神，是食物的保护者，也是繁荣的带来者。全日本有超过4万座大大小小的神社供奉他，其中最古老和最重要的是京都附近的伏见稻荷神社，那里有著名的红色鸟居与狐狸雕像，狐狸被认为是神的使者和守护者。

名字来源

Inari's name derives from ine, meaning rice seedling and so his name can be translated as 'rice carrier'. The rice god may go by another name, that of Ta-no-kami or 'the god of the paddy field'. He is sometimes called Susshe Inari (Success Inari) or Manzoku Inari (Fulfillment Inari). Yet another title is Ukanomitama-no-kami, meaning 'the god of nourishment'. Inari is also closely associated with the ancient rice or food goddess Ukemochi okami. Another association and one typical of the crossover of divine figures in Shinto and Japanese Buddhism is Daikiniten/Daikokuten (from the Hindu Dakini), the Buddhist god of the kitchen and the Five Grains, which include, of course, rice. In Buddhism, the god is considered a disciple of the Buddha and he may also be known as Inari Daimyojin.

稻荷神的名字源自ine，意思是“稻苗”，因此他的名字可以翻译为 "稻谷的搬运工"。稻荷神可能有另一个名字，即Ta-no-kami或 "稻田之神"。他有时被称为Susshe Inari（成功稻神）或Manzoku Inari（愿望实现之稻神）。还有一个称号是Ukanomitama-no-kami，意思是 "滋养之神"。稻荷神也与古代大米或食物女神Ukemochi okami密切相关。另一个关联，也是神道教和日本佛教中神性人物交叉的典型，是大金天/大国天（来自印度教的Dakini），是佛教的厨房之神和五谷之神，当然包括米神。在佛教中，该神被认为是佛祖的弟子，他也可能被人们称为稻城大明神。

信仰的传播

According to legend, Inari was first worshipped on Mount Inari from the 8th century CE following a discovery by a man called Hata no Irogu. One day Irogu was practising his archery skills using sticky rice cakes (mochi) as targets. One shot hit directly through a cake which then magically transformed into a white dove. Irogu followed the flight of the bird which eventually landed on a peak of Mt. Inari called Mitsumine, and there he found rice growing and so began the worship of Inari as a spirit or Shinto kami.

传说，从公元8世纪开始，一个叫Hata no Irogu的人发现了稻城山，于是人们开始崇拜稻城山。有一天，Irogu用粘稠的年糕（mochi）作为目标练习他的射箭技巧。有一次，他直接射中了一个年糕，然后年糕神奇地变成了一只白鸽子。Irogu跟随这只鸟飞行，最终落在了稻城山一个叫Mitsumine的山峰上，在那里他发现了水稻的生长，于是人们开始了对稻城精神或神的崇拜。

As the god of rice, the staple food of ancient Japan and so vital to the lives of all people from the lowly farmer to the emperor himself, Inari, unsurprisingly would become one of the major figures of Shinto. Festivals and rituals involving rice and rice farming, especially in the periods of sowing and harvest, have been practised ever since rice cultivation was introduced into southern Japan during the Yayoi Period (300 BCE - 250 CE). Given the food's importance, Inari's cult, thus, reached all corners of the Japanese islands and he acquired all manner of other attributes, too. Regarded as the bringer of prosperity in general, the protector of food, finder of lost property, protector of lovers and married couples, patron of swordsmiths, friend of merchants, traders, and artisans, and all-round general problem solver.

稻米是古代日本的主食，从卑微的农民到天皇本人的生活，都离不开稻米，稻荷神成为神道的主要人物之一，这一点不足为奇。自从弥生时代（公元前300年-公元前250年）将水稻种植引入日本南部以来，特别是在播种和收获期间，人们一直在举行有关水稻和水稻种植的节日与仪式。鉴于食物的重要性，稻荷的崇拜传到了日本岛屿的各个角落，他也被日本人冠以各种名头。他被认为是繁荣的带来者，食物的保护者，失物的寻找者，恋人和已婚夫妇的保护者，剑匠的守护者，商人、贸易商和工匠的朋友，以及全方位问题的解决者。

Inari's cult spread from that of a purely local deity in the 9th century CE when the famous scholar monk and founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, Kukai, aka Kobo Daishi (774-835 CE), made the god the guardian of the To-ji temple in Heiankyo (Kyoto), then the capital of Japan. Kukai had claimed to have met an old man carrying rice on the Inari Mountain and he considered it a meeting with the god himself. When the emperor fell seriously ill, it was only by giving Inari a high court rank that he ensured his recovery.

公元9世纪，著名学者及真言宗创始人空海（又名弘法大师）（公元774-835年）将稻荷神作为当时日本首都平安京（京都）东寺的守护神，稻荷神逐渐从一个纯粹的地方神成为全国信仰的神。空海曾声称在稻城山上遇到了一个背着大米的老人，他认为那是他与神灵本人的会面。当天皇病重时，只有通过给稻荷神一个高级的宫廷级别，才能确保他的康复。

During the Edo Period (1603-1868 CE) Inari took on an association with commerce and thus came to represent wealth and prosperity. This developed further as Japan's economy grew and life became more commercialised so that, by the Meiji Period (1868-1912 CE), Inari was considered the kami of finance and industry, a position he still holds for many today. Consequently, Inari shrines are still very much in use and also appear in miniaturised form in such places as market squares and the roofs of office blocks.

在江户时代（公元1603-1868年），稻荷神与商业有关联，因此他代表着财富和繁荣。随着日本经济的增长和生活的商业化，这种情况进一步发展；到了明治时期（公元1868-1912年），稻荷被认为是金融和工业的神，今天他仍然是许多人心中信仰的神。因此，稻荷神社仍然被广泛开设，并以小型化的形式出现在市场广场和办公大楼的屋顶等地方。

狐狸

In art the god is sometimes represented with a beard, he wears court clothes, carries a sack of rice, sometimes a flaming jewel which grants wishes, and may hold a key to a granary. Very often he is riding a white fox, the animal regarded as Inari's messenger and guardian. For this reason, Inari became the yashikigami or household deity of warriors in the medieval period as they too were imagined to ride foxes.

在艺术作品中，稻荷神有时留着胡子，穿着宫廷服装，背着一袋大米；有时带着能实现愿望的火焰珠宝，可能还拿着一把通往粮仓的钥匙。他经常骑着一只白狐，这种动物被视为稻城的信使和守护者。出于这个原因，在日本中世时期，稻荷神成为战士们的家神，战士们也被想象为骑着狐狸。

Many Inari shrines have fox sculptures, often wearing red bibs for good luck and holding a key to a rice granary in their mouths. Each shrine also has a symbolic hole in one of its perimeter walls to allow Inari's fox messenger ease of entry and exit. Worshippers frequently leave an offering for the fox at Inari shrines, typically inari-zushi, which is cooked rice wrapped in fried tofu and soaked in a sweet rice liquor. It is hoped that pleased with this offering the fox will only pass on good things about the worshipper to his master and thus ensure a favourable response from the god for whatever is being asked for.

许多稻城神社都有狐狸雕塑，它们通常戴着红色围兜，以示吉祥，嘴里叼着一把通往米仓的钥匙。每个神社的围墙上都有一个象征性的洞，以便稻城的狐狸使者能够轻松进出。崇拜者经常在稻城神社为狐狸留下祭品，通常是稻城寿司，即用炸豆腐包裹的熟米饭，浸泡在甜米酒中。人们希望狐狸对这一供品感到满意，把崇拜者所求之事传给他的主人，从而确保稻荷神对所求之事作出有利的回应。

伏见稻荷神社

Inari is one of the most popular deities in Japan, and he has thousands of shrines across the country, especially in rural areas, but it is the Fushimi Inari Taisha temple complex near Kyoto which is the oldest, largest and the most important. Aside from being the headquarters of Inari worship, the Fushimi shrine is also famous for the large number of red gates (torii) of all sizes at the site, which are donated by the faithful looking for the god to favour them (starting price around 3000 US dollars at the time of writing). The paths at the complex have over 5,000 torii, and they are placed so close together as to almost form covered walkways.

稻荷神是日本最受欢迎的神灵之一，他在全国各地有数千座神社，特别是在农村地区，但京都附近的伏见稻荷大社庙宇群是最古老、最大和最重要的稻荷神社。该地除了是稻荷崇拜的总部外，伏见神社还因现场大量的大小红色门（鸟居）而闻名，这些门是由寻求神灵眷顾的信徒捐赠的（在撰写本文时起价约为3000美元）。该建筑群的道路上有5000多座鸟居，它们被紧密地放置在一起，几乎形成了有盖的走道。

The Fushimi Inari shrine was founded in 711 CE by the Hata clan and moved from its original location on the top of Mt. Inari to its present location lower down in the 9th century CE. Like several other Shinto shrines, it was administered by Buddhist monks until the formal separation of the two religions in 1873 CE. The large round stone outside the main temple represents the presence (shintai) of Inari and is flanked by a large pair of fox sculptures. The main building was, unfortunately, destroyed by fire in 1468 CE during the Onin Wars (1467-1477 CE), but it was rebuilt in 1499 CE and has since been regularly restored. The Fushimi shrine is a popular visitor attraction all year round but especially in the New Year for the Hatsumode festival and at the beginning of February for the Hatsuuma Taisai festival.

伏见稻荷神社建于公元711年，建设者的羽田氏；公元9世纪，该神社从稻荷山顶的原址迁至低处（现址）。像其他几个神道教的神社一样，它一直由佛教僧侣管理，直到公元1873年神道教与佛教正式分离。主庙外的大圆石代表稻荷神的存在（shintai），两边是一对大狐狸雕塑。遗憾的是，主建筑在公元1468年的应仁之乱（公元1467-1477年）期间被火烧毁，它于公元1499年重建，此后定期修复。伏见稻荷神社全年都是一个受欢迎的旅游景点，特别是在新年的Hatsumode节（初诣，又称新年参拜）和二月初的Hatsuuma Taisai节（初马大斋）。