《47》Saga Journey - Yutoku Inari Shrine (Part 2)...Yutoku Inari is also known as Chinzei Nikko
- Yutoku Inari Shrine (Kashima City, Saga Prefecture) is one of the three major inari shrines in Japan, along with Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Toyokawa Inari in Aichi, and attracts more than 3 million visitors a year. (This is the second most visited shrine in Kyushu after Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Fukuoka Prefecture.)
- The magnificent beauty of the main shrine, which is built on a high stage about 18 meters high and covered with brilliantly lacquer in various colors, the Kaguraden, which is also covered with lacquer in various colors, and the tower gate is also known as Chinzei Nikko (Kyushu's Nikko).
-Yutoku Inari is said to have originated from the fact that in 1687, during the early Edo period, Manko, the wife of Nabeshima Naotomo (Lord of the Kashima domain in Hizen), requested a branch of Inari-okami, a deity that had been an imperial petition of the Imperial Court. The shrine was named Yutoku Inari Shrine because Manko's wife was called Yutokuin-dono. /
佐賀の旅-祐徳稲荷神社（その２）…祐徳稲荷は鎮西日光とも称される
- 祐徳稲荷神社（佐賀県鹿島市）は、京都の伏見稲荷、愛知の豊川稲荷とともに日本三大稲荷の一つに数えられ、年間で300万人以上の参拝者が訪れます。（これは九州地方では福岡県の太宰府天満宮に次いで参拝者が多い神社なのです。）
- 約１８ｍの高い舞台の上に建てられた漆塗極彩色の華麗な本殿や、同じく総漆塗極彩色の神楽殿、楼門などの壮観な美しさは、別名鎮西日光（九州の日光）とも称されています。
- 祐徳稲荷は、江戸時代初期の1687年に鍋島直朝（肥前鹿島藩主）の正室万子の方が、朝廷の勅願所であった稲荷大神の分霊を勧請したことに由来するといわれています。なお、万子の方を祐徳院殿と称することから、祐徳稲荷神社と名付けられたようです。