Description:
Model of an Inari Shrine erected in Mito, Japan in 1839. High peaked sloping roof, with an entrance on one side, framed by double doors. Steep steps lead up to it. A keyhole is on one of the doors, and one of the banisters is broken. Elaborate porch around three sides of the door. Given by Herbert Nicholson to Mary I. Hussey in December of 1936

Label Text:
In 1839 a Shinto Inari shrine was erected in Mito, Japan. This shrine was demolished in the early 20th century to make way for a Quaker meeting house. In an attempt to honor the shrine, the Quakers commissioned local woodworkers to construct a model of the structure using the same keyaki wood as the original. The model was later given to Mary Inda Hussey, Biblical History and Literature Professor at Mount Holyoke College, who in turn donated the object to the College to use in teaching foreign religions. Eventually the model found a home at the Skinner Museum. Elements of the original shrine were preserved with the model including this dedication plaque, which reads as follows.

(from right to left)
An Offering

(from right to left, top to bottom)
Made in the twenty-second year of the Meiji Period [1889]
On an auspicious day of the twelfth month
or the Inari Shrine
By the worshiper Ogawa Nobuko

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+SK+2006.2064.INV

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