"Jinja" is the Japanese name of the Shinto shrines.
Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese.
In the Jinja, a myriad of "Kami", the Japanese deities, are enshrined.
For this reason, Shinto shrines are sacred places.
The literal translation of "kaichu" is "all get hit", in other words, it means "every wish comes true".
"Inari" is one of the name of the deity of agriculture. He is also a protector of business.
In September 1533, Inari appeared in this place, and so got Enshrined in this Jinja.
During the Edo period (1624～), the Tokugawa Shogunate decided to set up a firearms (match lock) squad right here, in the then Musashi region.
Since the squad consisted of one hundred members, the area got called "Hyakunin-cho",
meaning "a hundred men's town, which is still in use nowadays for this place.
Their captain was trying to build up his shooting skills, but he could never hit bull's eye.
Deeply worried, one night he had a dream in which Inari gave him a talisman.
The next morning, as soon as he got up he went to visit the Jinja to show respect to the deity.
After this, his shooting skills got perfect.
Seeng this, the squad members also decided to go visit the Jinja.
Amazingly, the same thing happened to all of them.
Day after day, the Jinja's reputation spread over the whole country,
and a lot of people came to visit it with various requests, not only rerated to firearms.
Since so many of the people's wishes came true, the Jinja got called "MINA ATARU NO INARI",
or "KAICHU INARI JINJA". The meaning of "mina ataru" is the same as "kaichu".
Since then, this Jinja is famous for the divine grace and rewards.
