Akatsuka Inari Jinja (赤塚稲荷神社)

Akatsuka Inari Jinja (赤塚稲荷神社)

Temizu-ya

Akatsuka Inari Jinja (赤塚稲荷神社) is a small Inari shrine located on the southern edge of Akatsuka Park (赤塚公園) in the Inarimae District of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.  A sign near the temizu-ya (water pavilion) refers to it as Akatsuka Jinja (赤塚神社), but both names—Akatsuka Inari Jinja and Akatsuka Jinja—are rarely found online, including on Google Maps.  The shrine is generally referred to as "Inari Jinja (稲荷神社)."  It does not appear on the list posted on the website of Ibarakiken-Jinjacho, the Ibaraki Branch of Jinja Honcho (association of Shinto shrine).

Takemoto Chiyotayu Monument

The shrine stands on a small mound identified by the Tsukuba City Board of Education as a kofun (ancient tomb), specifically named Inarimae Inarizuka Kofun (稲荷前稲荷塚古墳).

At the entrance, a stone torii (a traditional gate commonly placed at the entrance of Shinto shrines) is inscribed with "文政十三寅年," indicating the year 1830.  In front of the temizu-ya, a stone monument inscribed with a poem by Takemoto Chiyotayu (竹本千代太夫) and is marked with "安政五年," corresponding to the year 1858.