In this print from his series, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Hiroshige imagines the mysterious atmosphere of a gathering of sacred foxes. Local farmers predicted the success of the coming year's crops by the brightness of these fires. These foxes were believed to carry torches in their mouths creating kitsune-bi, or fox fires. During the Edo period, it was thought that on New Year's Eve, foxes from all regions gathered under the Nettle Tree at Ōji. Followers of Shinto, the native religion in Japan, believe that kami exist in everything: in natural elements like rocks and trees, inorganic and artificial things and even in people. Shinto is often referred to as animistic or a kind of nature worship. Such a destructive force as fire in a culture where buildings were typically made of wood and paper resulted in Kagutsuchi. The son of Izanami and Izanagi, the fire god is the father of eight warrior gods and eight mountain gods, amongst others. Foxes (Japanese: kitsune) feature prominently in folklore, both as benign supernatural beings and as wicked, harmful creatures who bewitch and possess people – a belief originating in Chinese folklore. Japanese shrines are places of worship for Shinto spirits called kami. Kagutsuchi (aka Hi-no-Kagutsuchi) is the Shinto god or kami of fire and is also known as Homusubi. The deity’s presence is suggested by stone sculptures of foxes, considered Inari’s messengers and protectors of the rice harvest since they catch the mice who eat the rice. Inari, the kami of the harvest, is rarely depicted in human form. 118 from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo by Utagawa Hiroshige, 1857 New Year's Eve Foxfires at Nettle Tree, Ōji, No. Here the classical kami are those which appear in the oldest Shinto texts including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. In English they can be referred to as gods or deities – for example, Inari is the god of the rice harvest (with a fox messenger), while Tenjin is the god of scholarship and academic success. They have occasionally been given human form in sculptures and paintings, but their presence is usually suggested by images of their animal messengers. Some kami are mentioned in Japan’s oldest written texts, and for centuries many have been worshipped in shrines (Japanese: jingū, jinja). Respecting the kami by offering them food and drink and holding festivals in their honor ensures their support, while dishonor and neglect can invite calamity. Kami are believed to control nature – providing protection, fine weather and bountiful harvests or storms, earthquakes and floods – depending on how they are treated. They can also be the spirits of historic personages who have been granted this status. Kami are spiritual beings believed to inhabit particular places and elements of nature, such as the sea, mountains, waterfalls or trees.
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