Vulpine divine

A lengthier version of my speech at the Jozan Inari Shrine:

I have always shared a connection with nature and, in particular, I have felt a common bond with the fox. Since childhood, I have always had a sense of god in nature: in the autumn leaf, the crescent moon, the forest and the sea. Despite several misadventures into other churches, I have always been drawn back to the natural world for spiritual succour. In Japanese Shinto, the fox is a messenger of Inari, the rice god. In folklore, the fox is a figure of mystery, mischief and cunning. To me, the fox is insightful in thought, solitary in nature and independent in spirit. In a way, the fox is an embodiment of the wildness and beauty of gods, and ourselves. Japanese Shinto is tied very closely to nature-worship, and when I first learned of Shinto, I had an immediate sense of recognition. After I visited my first Inari shrine – Fushimi Inari near Kyoto – and lingered long among the myriad crooked monuments and the moss-covered fox guardians, I felt a sense of belonging and contentment. And this is why I wanted to marry, here, at the Jozan Inari Shrine.