Lake Inari Lake Inari Lake Inari (, , , , , ) is the largest lake in Sápmi and the third-largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is above sea level and it is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plant in Russia. The freezing period normally extends from November to early June. The best-known islands of the lake are Hautuumaasaari ("Graveyard Island"), which served as a cemetery for ancient Sami people and Ukonkivi ("Ukko's Stone"), a historical sacrifice place of the ancient inhabitants of the area. There are over
Inari Ōkami the pleasure quarters where these individuals lived. They began to be worshipped as the "Desire-Fulfilling Inari", a deity of luck and prosperity; a common saying in Osaka was "Byō Kōbō, yoku Inari" ("For sickness [pray to] Kōbō, for desires [pray to] Inari"). Inari also began to be petitioned for good health; they are credited with curing such diverse afflictions as coughs, toothaches, broken bones, and syphilis. Women prayed to Inari to grant them children. After a government decree mandated the separation of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs, many Inari shrines underwent changes. At Fushimi Inari, for instance, structures that were obviously