A lot of people were walking in front of the torii gate of Kaichu Inari Shrine

As I walked along Okubo-dori Street from Okubo Station to Shin-Okubo Station, I saw a small Shinto shrine on the way. It is Kaichu Inari Shrine. Although the frontage of the shrine is narrow, it has a long and narrow precinct that looks like a bed of eels.

Originally it was simply a shrine dedicated to the god Inari, but after the Tokugawa Shogunate stationed the "Hundred Men of the Gun Team" in this area, it became the god of shooting, and eventually came to be known as the "Kaichu (All on target) Inari" because of its many miracles. The pun became the name of the shrine.

The long and narrow precincts were beautifully maintained, and as I wandered around, I saw many other worshippers. Nowadays, the word "All on target" is said to be popular as a blessing for betting. It's strange, though, because I used to walk by this shrine more than ten years ago, but I don't remember it being as beautiful as this.

I may be misremembering, but I remember that the shrine grounds were dark and poorly lit until about ten years ago. It seems that the atmosphere has completely changed after not visiting for a while. It was as if a serious classmate I hadn't seen in a while had turned into a flirtatious playboy.

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