Rabbit is said to be a talisman of peace and an animal with the power to spare people from bad things. The Japanese kanji character for 'immunity (免れる)' is also said to be derived from the kanji 'rabbit (兎)'. The area around the Okazaki Shrine in Kyoto was inhabited by wild rabbits, and thus rabbits were considered to be messengers of the gods, making the shrine famous as a shrine for safe childbirth.
