Polite to Stranger
Cultural · Religion
初午の日には、お稲荷さんにお供えをして商売繁盛をお願いするんですよ。 — On the first Day of the Horse, we offer food to Inari shrines and pray for business prosperity. (Cultural · Religion, Polite to Stranger, JLPT N3)
You
初午の日には、お稲荷さんにお供えをして商売繁盛をお願いするんですよ。
はつうまのひには、おいなりさんにおそなえをしてしょうばいはんじょうをおねがいするんですよ。
On the first Day of the Horse, we offer food to Inari shrines and pray for business prosperity.
Romaji: Hatsuuma no hi ni wa, oinari-san ni osonae wo shite shoubai-hanjou wo onegai surun desu yo. / Reply Romaji: Hee, sou na n desu ne. Inari no okitsune-san ni desu ka?
Reply
へえ、そうなんですね。稲荷のお狐さんにですか？
へえ、そうなんですね。いなりのおきつねさんにですか？
Oh, is that so? To the fox messengers of Inari?
Gesture & etiquette
If explaining at a shrine, gesture politely toward the fox statues (kitsune-zou) with an open hand, never pointing fingers. Bow slightly when saying 「お稲荷さん」—the お prefix shows reverence for the deity.
「初午」(hatsu-uma) is the first day of the horse in the lunar February (now early February in modern calendar). Inari shrines—dedicated to the deity of grain, business, and prosperity—hold festivals. Devotees offer abura-age (deep-fried tofu, the favorite food of foxes, who are Inari's messengers) and inari-zushi. Especially observed by merchants and food businesses.