I Didn't Think This Post On Cute Rabbit Statues With No Extra Information Required Would End With A Paragraph On Aristocracy But Here We Ar - Blog Posts

Izumo Taisha's rabbits

@shoku-and-awe made a great post on the rabbit statues at Izumo Taisha and why they're there, so I'll only add that they are all over the shrine's grounds, and as far as East as the Ancient Izumo History Museum.

In the gardens, the rabbits are depicted doing all kinds of things: reading a book, taking pictures, birdwatching... Yes, all that!

And of course, there are a lot of rabbits facing the shrine buildings and praying.

The plaque behind these two recognises Senge Takamasa and Kunimaro, father and son, current and presumed future chief priest of Izumo Taisha. Tracing their origins back to the rulers of the Izumo province way back in the Nara period (Takamasa is the 84th head of the clan), the aristocratic-priestly Senge family has very much stayed in high society to this day, from being involved in politics and governor of Tokyo around 1900 (the shrine had been taken out of their control following the Meiji revolution and the abolition of the nobility), to Kunimaro marrying an Imperial princess (who no longer holds the title as per the rules) in 2014.