Foxes are messengers of Inari (Shinto god of rice) honored in statues at Fushimi Inari Taisha, famed Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

Foxes (kitsune) are messengers of Inari, the Shinto god of rice and patron of business, honored in many statues at Fushimi Inari Taisha, a famous Shinto shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari. The shrine predates the capital's move to Kyoto in 794 and has much expanded since then.