Nestled in the Mukojima neighborhood in the shadow of the towering Tokyo Skytree, Mimeguri Shrine is an unassuming Shinto place of worship, but the first thing you’ll see as you enter the grounds is a bronze statue of a lion couchant. It’s a replica of the Trafalgar Square lion—but what’s it doing in a shrine far from London?
The lion, to the general Japanese public, is better known as a symbol of Mitsukoshi, the oldest department store in Japan. It has sat in front of the chain’s main store since 1914, surviving the 1923 earthquake and the fires of war, and been copied numerous times for its branches. The one at Mimeguri Shrine was donated by the Ikebukuro outlet, which permanently closed in 2009.
But how is it relevant here? The answer lies in the shrine’s centuries-long associations with Mitsukoshi. Its history can be traced back to 1673, when the Mitsui (三井) clan established the kimono shop Echigoya (越後屋). In 1904, it developed into the department store Mitsukoshi (三越) as part of the Mitsui zaibatsu, one of the largest corporate groups in the world, then and now.
On the other hand, it is now known when the shrine was originally founded, though its foundation is certainly ancient. Legend has it that a traveling priest once found a statuette of a deity from its grounds, and that a white fox came out of nowhere and circled around it three times, before suddenly collapsing and dying. The priest gave the name of Mimeguri (三囲), which means “three encirclements,” to the ancient shrine in honor of the fox.
Back in the Edo period, the Mitsui clan chose Mimeguri Shrine as its spiritual guardian for sharing the kanji character 三 with it, as well as for the letter 囲 appearing to protect the 井. The clan was also looking for a shrine located northwest of its headquarters, as it was believed to be an unlucky direction it needed some protection from. Even today, most of the outlets of Mitsukoshi also have branch shrines of Mimeguri, where employees pray to the fox god for protection and success.
But its associations with the Mitsui group are not all that Mimeguri Shrine is known for. In fact, it is also home to an unusual trifold torii arch relocated from the manor of the Mitsui clan, as well as a pair of softly smiling fox statues nicknamed “Konkon-san of Mimeguri Shrine.” In feudal Edo, mild-mannered, tender-faced people were often compared to these beloved foxes.
