Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Workship - Hardcoverby Karen A. Smyers (Author) The deity Inari has been worshipped in Japan since at least the early eighth century and today is a revered presence in such varied venues as Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, factories, theaters, private households, restaurants, beauty shops, and rice fields. Although at first glance and to its many devotees Inari worship may seem to be a unified phenomenon, it is in fact exceedingly multiple, noncodified, and