next »

[Hanai]

I was reading through the thread on Tamamo-no-Mae, and while thinking of that whole situation, a question came to me that I am rather curious about.

Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I have experienced and researched, many kami have their own courts of followers, Inari being no exception (and Inari's courts are the ones that I am most familiar with).  So you have the court of Amaterasu Omikami, Susanowo, O-Inari-sama, and so on.  Many people, due to being born in a particular clan or locale, associate their worship with a particular kami.  In some other indigenous African and Carribean religious, as well, people are thought to be born under the guidance of a particular (or a couple particular) deity/s.

Somewhat along the same lines, some kitsune are tied closely to the courts of Inari (such as myself) and feel a strong connection with Her, seeking to earn Her favor and pleasure.  They're referred to as Myobu and because of their particular connection to the Court of Inari-sama, they are differentiated from the Nogitsune.  

Now, I have noticed there are many Nogitsune on these boards, which I feel is wonderful because it leads to a variety of perspectives and experiences for everyone to share and grow from, regardless of whether they are myobu or nogitsune.  The reason why I wrote this post is because I am really curious about whether some nogitsune do have a personal relationship with any particular kami or not.  

I've read in some books mention of a Mother of kitsune, who has 10 or 1000 tails depending on where you read from, and some books further mention that some nogitsune, rather than ascribing themselves to the court of Inari, instead worship the Mother.  Then you can read other books and find that some worship the  Mother as a particular manifestation of Inari.  It's all quite confusing and somewhat contradictory stuff.  Not to mention that alot of these books have been written by humans, who don't necessarily  have the same ties and knowledge that a kitsune would have on the matters.

So I was interested in hearing from particularly the nogitsune on this board (although anyone who is knowledgeable on the subject is welcome to share) about whether or not anyone here is tied to some sort of court, or the term "nogitsune" only really applies to those who are free from such ties.

Thanks in advance!

[Taoki]

I'm not a nogitsune myself, but I would have a few things I would like to share too.

Firstly, when it comes to so called "courts", I have a very clear opinion; courts = judgment, judgment = evil, evil = everything wrong. In my belief, a spirit, whatever they are, has the right to chose where to go after they die, without being judged by someone higher for what they did right and wrong, and be condemned to something like a hell, or something like pain or further sadness. I am against "courts" and bringing sadness to someone for something "written down", and an invention such as justice or revenge.

I am not sure if some kitsunes have such systems or how they are like, though I believe they may have. Humans certainly have far worse on the other side then here, if they can have what they have in this world. I do not believe a kitsune would normally condemn someone else of their kin to pain over some written things, except probably a very few who may want to do that.

As for lady Inari, I cannot say I yet managed to get a strong connection for her, but I do follow her how I can and consider myself hers and love her very much. The thought of a giant mother ladyfox simply melts my heart, and makes feel happy. I would love her so much, if she is real and lady Inari is not the highest kitsune goddess that exists.

[Kuro]

Taoki, in that sense, you're VERY wrong.  But I don't blame you; that's what I thought at first.  The Courts are more like medieval courts, where there's a lot more going on than sentencing, even though that's part of what goes on.  Secondly, the courts are conjoined, and all gods share them; each god or goddess can create their own court space, but they're all interconnected to each other.

[Nintai no Nogitsune]

Not all Nogitsune choose to be Nogitsune by will.

[Hanai]

Not all Nogitsune choose to be Nogitsune by will.

Ah yes.  I hope my post didn't give the impression that nogitsune are ONLY those who choose not to serve Inari.  I would love to hear from all types!  

And echoing Kuro's statements, the "courts" I am speaking of are the godly courts that the Kami get various things done in.  It would make sense that they all are interconnected Kuro, seeing as how the Kami themselves often have familial relations to each other as well.  Interesting.

[Nintai no Nogitsune]

Ah yes.  I hope my post didn't give the impression that nogitsune are ONLY those who choose not to serve Inari.  I would love to hear from all types!  

No, you really wouldn't.

[Hanai]

Yes I do, I wanna know.  A fox has gotta learn somehow.  Even if it is unpleasant.

[reiko]

How can you find yourself pulled to a deity that you have never heard nor seen? And I don't mean that symbolism through nature angle, either.

I don't choose to serve Inari. She must be great and everything, but I don't feel that serving some Goddess that I have never felt a connection to will help me, personally.
Those who follow Inari's rules and laws live such a hindered, enclosed, boring life in my eyes.

[Nintai no Nogitsune]

Yes I do, I wanna know.  A fox has gotta learn somehow.  Even if it is unpleasant.

Only if your ready to question everything you think you believe about the courts and the shit they throw around. If you find the idea uncomfortingly, then do yourself a favor and don't ask.

How can you find yourself pulled to a deity that you have never heard nor seen? And I don't mean that symbolism through nature angle, either.

I don't choose to serve Inari. She must be great and everything, but I don't feel that serving some Goddess that I have never felt a connection to will help me, personally.
Those who follow Inari's rules and laws live such a hindered, enclosed, boring life in my eyes.

Yes, so very boring.

[Kuro]

And what about those of us who HAVE a relationship with Inari?  <.<;

[reiko]

Well that's good for you, it's not really my job to shoot it down unless asked, if you were referring to me.

[Hanai]

I feel that I may have perhaps phrased my question in an incorrect or unclear manner, and I apologize for that if that is the case.  I mainly wanted to know if Nogitsune have any organizations of their own, or swear fealty to another, not whether or not they have some connection to Inari specifically.  Does anyone here serve Tamamo no Mae for example?  Or is it the simple idea of any system at all that some kitsune reject?  So far I am getting the impression that many Nogitsune (at least the ones who post here) have a negative impression of court systems in general.  Very interesting, and thank you for posting your views.

As for some of the comments made about Inari's courts, here's my two cents and reply, feel free to not read it if you prefer not to listen to some "boring, musty old traditionalist"    hehe.

Some are made stronger by the backing of tradition.  It can be a very beautiful and enriching part of one's life.  It is not for everyone, however, and I am understanding of that.  There must be balance in everything, including belief and disbelief.  I consider myself rather closely tied to the courts (not one of the higher ups of course, otherwise I doubt that I'd be here) and consider myself a spiritual guardian of those who follow or serve Inari, particularly the weaker humans in the world who are what you'd call  "down and destitute" both materially and spiritually.  Now, a fish doesn't feel the water they're swimming in, but at least from where I am, I do not sense any corruption of any sort.  My personal intentions are to help people out, and I certainly hope that, ultimately, that is the intention of the Court and all of the other kitsune that work within it.  

I fear that I am on my rambles again so I will end here.  But thank you all for posting so far.

[Nintai no Nogitsune]

Remember not all of the courts serve under Inari. which may not be a bad thing.

[Kuro]

Exactly.  It keeps balance.  There's a court for all of the omikami, and messenger kami for each court.  Amaterasu-sama's messenger is the wolf;  I forgot who Tsukiyomi-sama and Susanowo-sama's messengers are.

[Nintai no Nogitsune]

True, thanks for that point, but there may be more Kitsune courts outside of Inari's courts than we think.

Powered by SMF 1.1.15 | SMF © 2006-2009, Simple Machines
Blueace design by Crip | XHTML | CSS

Page created in 0.061 seconds with 19 queries.