The many Torii of the Fushimi Inari-taisha, donated by worshippers. (own collection)
While visiting the shrine, I came across this roofed stage structure with 12 lanterns surrounding it. Oddly, each of the lantern shows each of the sign of the western zodiac. I’ve asked the web community about the nature of these lanterns and nobody really gives a satisfying answer. In conclusion, it is possible that these lanterns are modern in nature and was donated by worshippers for the shrine. (based on JerryJ answer.)
The wooden pavilion with 12 zodiacal lanterns. source: 李忠衛 panoramio page
Later, while browsing through this site on the topics of Lunar Mansion, I found this picture of the Tendai Circular Mandala which the owner, Mark Schumacher, describes the mandala as the Shaka surrounded by 7 Stars of Big Dipper, 9 Luminaries, 28 Lunar Mansion, and 12 Zodiac Animals. But when you see the picture of the mandala clearly:
The Tendai Mandala from mid-late 12th century. Source: Onmark Production
You can actually see that these are not the typical animal zodiac of the Orient, but the western zodiac. The depiction is almost similar with the depiction of the zodiac lanterns in Fushimi Inari-taisha, so this helps in identifying the signs.
There are 12 lanterns. 2 lanterns on the north façade, 2 on the south, 4 on the west (front façade facing the entrance gate of the shrine) and 4 on the east (façade facing the shrine). Here are the signs (ordered from the north side of the pavilion, clockwise direction) and share what you think:
 | north 7 Libra Scales. |
 | north 11 Aquarius A vase with flowers. |
 | east 12 Pisces Two fishes. In the Japanese mandala I’ve checked, the fishes is always depicted swimming to same direction, instead of swimming on the opposite direction. |
 | east 6 Virgo In the Japanese version of the Hellenistic zodiac, Virgo is depicted as two figures. At first, I’m not sure whether this is Virgo or Gemini, but now I’m positively sure this is Virgo. |
 | east 10 Capricorn At first, I thought this is either Leo or Aries. Now I learn that this is probably Capricorn, depicted as a monstrous figure with the lower part of a fish. |
 | east 8 Scorpio Scorpion. |
 | south 2 Taurus Resting bull. |
 | south 9 Sagittarius Bow and arrow. |
 | west 5 Leo At first, I am not sure whether this is Aries or Leo. This is probably Leo. |
 | west 3 Gemini At first, I thought this is either Gemini or Virgo. Know I’m positively sure this is Gemini. |
 | west 10 Capricorn At first, I thought this is Capricorn, but after checking the mandala, I’ve learned that Aries is depicted as a goat in historic Japan. |
 | west 4 Cancer A crab. |
Source:
Own collection
