Who are kitsune? Kitsune is a fox endowed with supernatural powers.
This type of mythological character, like magic foxes, is characteristic of all of East Asia. In contrast to the traditional ideas among European and Central Asian peoples about werewolves as originally anthropomorphic creatures that turn into zoomorphic demons, a completely different type prevails in the beliefs of China, which were later borrowed by the Japanese. These are animals that have lived for hundreds of years, capable of taking on human form, as well as casting illusions and casting spells. These beliefs are based on the concept of jing: “in Chinese mythology, the substance contained in every living creature.
According to the Taoist concept, at the moment of a person’s birth, a spirit (shen), which is like a soul, is formed by combining the vital breath coming from outside with the substance jing. With the death of a person, the jing disappears." The jing energy of all creatures steadily increases with age; animals finally become able to turn into people and chase them.
This Chinese concept echoes the Slavic idea of the danger emanating from a creature that has “lived in the world,” “eating someone else’s age,” and because of this, even capable of becoming a vampire. It is noteworthy that almost all Japanese werewolf animals (with the exception of the raccoon dog - tanuki) show a tendency towards vampirism.
The Japanese most often remembered magical foxes when talking about some strange and mysterious phenomena. Particularly interesting are the examples where the tricks of foxes are contrasted with belief in ghosts. For example, in Ueda Akinari's story "A Night in the Reeds" (collection "Moon in the Fog", 1768) we are talking about ghosts.
However, the idea that he had met a ghost did not immediately occur to the protagonist when he woke up the next day and found that his wife had disappeared, and the house to which he had returned after a seven-year absence looked abandoned: “The wife disappeared somewhere. “Maybe all this is the tricks of the fox?” Katsushiro thought. However, the house in which he was, undoubtedly, was his own home, although it had fallen into extreme desolation.”.
In the story “The Cauldron of the Kibitsu Temple” from the same collection, the friend of the protagonist, who saw the ghost of his dead wife, consoles him: “It was, of course, the fox who deceived you.”3 There is an even more eloquent legend called “The Road of the Spirits of the Dead,” where the main character, a skeptic, also did not believe in ghosts: “They say it’s perfume, but in fact it was just someone’s dream, that’s all. It’s foxes, who else!”.
The main features of beliefs about magical foxes were borrowed by the Japanese from China. W. A. Kasal writes about it this way: “Belief in the magic of foxes, as well as in their ability to turn around, did not originate in Japan, but came from China, where these fearsome animals, capable of taking on a human form and fooling people, were described in the literature of the Han Dynasty, 202 BC - 221 AD. Since animism was always inherent in the Japanese, the belief in magical foxes was relatively easily accepted."
The Ainu also have beliefs associated with the fox. Thus, A. B. Spevakovsky reports: “The silver fox (shitumbe kamuy) was almost always considered by the Ainu as a “good”, kind animal. At the same time, the red fox was considered an unreliable kamuy, capable of causing harm to humans.”.
It is about the red fox as a character in lower mythology that we find a lot of information. Tironnup is a skilled werewolf who can take the form of both a man and a woman.
There is a legend about how Tironnup turned into a young man to find a bride. At the competition, he amazed everyone with his jumping skill, and the bride would have already been his if someone had not noticed the tip of his tail visible from under his clothes. The red fox was killed.
Legends about a fox taking the form of a beautiful girl also most often end with someone seeing their tail. The Ainu believe that contact between a person and a fox, especially sexual contact, is very dangerous and leads to the death of a person. Ethnographic data from the beginning of the 20th century. show that among the Ainu there is also a belief in human possession by a fox. Most often this happens to women (the same can be seen in Japanese material, this will be discussed below), this condition is called tusu.
However, all borrowings must fall on a base prepared for this: there is no doubt that the Japanese themselves had a certain layer of beliefs associated with foxes. A separate evidence of this is the cult of the Shinto deity Inari. Inari can also appear in human form, but most often appears in the form of a celestial snow-white fox.
Fox statues are an integral part of shrines in his honor, and Inari is usually accompanied by two white nine-tailed foxes. Inari is the patron saint of rice, in all its forms: ine (rice in ears), kome (threshed rice) and gohan (cooked rice; designation of food in general). The name Inari itself means "rice man" (the root "ine" is supplemented with "ri" - "man"), and ears of rice are still associated among older Japanese with little green men. This all leads us to the idea that the deity Inari is one of the variants of the “rye wolf”, which, among others, was written about by J. Frazer.
Lafcadio Hearn points out that Inari was often worshiped as a healing deity; but more often he was considered a god who brought wealth (perhaps because all wealth in Old Japan was counted in koku rice). That is why his foxes are often depicted holding keys in their mouths. M. W. de Visser in the book “The Fox and the Badger in Japanese Folklore” notes that the deity Inari is often associated with the bodhisattva Dakini-Ten, one of the patronesses of the Shingon Order.
However, there is a significant difference between the foxes of the deity Inari and the were-foxes, which is pointed out by the Japanese ethnologist Kiyoshi Nozaki: “It should be noted that foxes in the service of Inari have nothing in common with the witchcraft of other foxes, which are often called nogitsune, or “wild foxes.” One of the duties of the servants of the Inari Shrine in the Fushimi quarter of Kyoto was precisely the expulsion and punishment of these nogitsune." Nogitsune are were-foxes. It was believed that Inari could control them, however, not in all cases. The conflict between the deity Inari and the wild nogitsune foxes is shown in the feature film "Gegege no Kitaro" (2007; dir. Motoki Katsuhide), where Inari appears under the name Tenko and appears in the form of a beautiful celestial maiden with many fox tails. Nogitsune foxes are presented there as the main antagonists: they strive to harm people in every possible way, which is opposed by Tenko, who wants everyone to live in peace.
The main magical ability of foxes is the ability to turn into a person. In the collection "Otogi-boko" by Asai Ryoi there is a story called "The Story of the Fox that Absorbed the Energy of the Daimyo." The process of turning a fox into a human is described in detail there: "Walking along the banks of the Shinohara River in the dim light of a foggy autumn evening, he(the main character of the story) I saw a fox praying furiously, facing north, standing on its hind legs, with a human skull on its head. Every time the fox bowed in prayer, the skull fell from its head. However, the fox put it back and continued to pray, facing north, as before. The skull rolled off many times, but in the end it was firmly attached to the head. The fox read the prayer about a hundred times.". After this, the fox turns into a young girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Not all foxes could turn into humans. W. A. Kasal writes the following: “The older the fox, the greater its strength. The most dangerous are those who have reached the age of eighty or one hundred years. Those who have crossed this threshold are already admitted to heaven, they become “heavenly foxes.” Their fur takes on a golden hue, and instead nine tails grow. They serve in the halls of the Sun and Moon and know all the secrets of nature.".
In the Kabuki play Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Blossoms, the main character, a magical fox, says that her parents were white foxes, each of which was a thousand years old. In Ogita Ansei's story "About the Werecat" (collection "Stories of the Night Watch"), it says: “The sacred books say that a thousand-year-old fox can turn into a beauty, a hundred-year-old mouse into a witch. An old cat can become a werewolf with a forked tail.”.
Can younger foxes take on human form? Yes, but they don't always do it well. In Kenko-hoshi's Notes from Boredom, there is a story about a young fox who entered the Gojo Imperial Palace and watched a game of Go through a bamboo curtain: “A fox in the form of a man peeked out from behind the curtain. “Oh! It’s a fox!” everyone made a noise, and the fox ran away in confusion. It must have been an inexperienced fox, and it didn’t succeed in transforming itself properly.”.
This aspect directly resonates with Chinese beliefs: "In the ideas of the Chinese, there were several, so to speak, age categories of magical foxes. The lowest are young foxes, capable of magic, but limited in transformations; then - foxes capable of a wider range of transformations: they can become an ordinary woman, and a beautiful maiden, and maybe even a man. In human form, a fox can enter into relationships with real people, seduce them, fool them so that they forget about everything.<...>as a result, the fox can significantly increase its magical capabilities, which allows it to achieve longevity, and perhaps even immortality, and thereby fall into the last, highest category - thousand-year-old foxes, become a saint, get closer to the heavenly world (often just about this the fox is said to be white or nine-tailed), having left the vain world of people".
The Chinese tradition as a whole is characterized by the idea that the vital spirit (jing) of all creatures steadily strengthens with age, and the increasing strength of foxes with age is another manifestation of this.
It is quite simple to recognize a fox that has turned into a human: it most often has a fox tail. In the legend about a fox named Kuzunoha, the mother of the famous wizard Abe no Seimei, the fox, transformed into a young beautiful woman, admired the flowers, but in her admiration did not notice that her tail became visible through the hem of her kimono. He was noticed by her son, Abe no Seimei, who was then seven years old. After this, his mother leaves a farewell poem and goes back into the forest, taking on her true form. In Izumi there is now a Kuzunoha-Inari Shrine, built, according to legend, on the very spot where Kuzunoha left her farewell poem.
But there are even more reliable ways to identify a fox. In a story from Konjaku Monogatari called “The Fox Who Turned into a Wife,” the main character unexpectedly meets not one, but two wives at home. He realizes that one of them is a fox. He begins to threaten them both, the women burst into tears, but only when he tightly grabs the fox’s hand, as if he wants to tie it, does it break free, take on its true form and run away.
The author of the work himself gives advice: "The samurai was angry at the fox for fooling him. But it was too late. He should have known right away, so it was his own fault. First of all, he should have tied up both women, and the fox would have eventually taken his true form.".
Foxes are immediately recognized by dogs. This idea is first heard in a story from “Nihon ryoiki” - “The Lay of the Fox and Her Son”: the fox wife, frightened by the dog, takes on her true form and runs away into the forest. In the otogijoshi "The Fox of Kowato", the fox Kishiu Gozen leaves the home where she was a wife and mother because her son was given a dog. Davis Headland notes that the word "dog" written on a child's forehead was protection against the witchcraft of foxes and badgers. He also points out another way to identify a fox: “If the shadow of a female fox accidentally falls on the water, it will reflect a fox, not a beautiful woman.”.
An interesting way to identify a fox is indicated by Lafcadio Hearn: “the fox cannot pronounce the whole word, only part of it: for example, “Nishi ... Sa ...” instead of “Nishida-san,” “de goza ...” instead of “de gozaimas "or "uti...de" instead of "uti des ka?" U. A. Kasal reports on the evolution of this method of recognizing a fox in modern society: according to popular belief, a fox cannot say the word “moshi-moshi.”
The fox says “moshi” once, and then says something incomprehensible, or says the next “moshi” after a while. According to the popular explanation, the habit of saying “mosi-mosi” at the beginning of a telephone conversation is precisely the way to make sure that your interlocutor is not a fox.
What is the reason why foxes take human form? In the already mentioned story by Asai Ryoi, “The Story of the Fox that Absorbed the Energy of the Daimyo,” it is said that the fox was driven out by a priest who noticed that the samurai in love with the transformed fox looked bad.
He tells him the following: "You are under a spell. Your energy is being consumed by a monster, and your life is in danger unless we do something immediately. I am never wrong about such matters.". The priest later denounces the fake girl, and she turns into a fox with a skull on her head, appearing in the same form in which she transformed into a human many years ago.
It can be noted that foxes are no strangers to vampirism. The same motif can be seen in Chinese beliefs about foxes. I. A. Alimov writes: “It is a marital relationship with a person that is the fox’s ultimate goal, since in the process of sexual relations she receives from a man his vital energy, which she needs to improve her magical capabilities<...>outwardly this is expressed in a sharp loss of weight (“skin and bones”) and general weakness. Ultimately, the person dies from exhaustion of vitality."
However, it is believed that marriage with a fox produces children endowed with miraculous abilities. In addition, despite the tendency towards vampirism of Japanese magic foxes, their husbands are often sincerely sad about their beloved ones, whom they left, and this sadness is explained by human reasons, and not at all by bewitchment.
In addition, the fox can transform into different things, animals and plants. “The Story of the Fox Who Was Killed While Pretending to Be a Tree” from Konjaku Monogatari tells how the nephew of the high Shinto priest Nakadayu and his servant, while walking, saw a huge cedar tree that had not been there before. They decide to check whether it is a real cedar or not and shoot it with a bow. The next moment the tree disappears, and in its place they find a dead fox with two arrows in its side. B. H. Chamberlain recounts a highly publicized case in 1889.
It was a story about a fox who took the form of a train on the Tokyo-Yokohama line. The ghost train was moving towards the present and, it seemed, was about to collide with it. The driver of the real train, seeing that all his signals were useless, increased his speed, and at the moment of the collision the phantom suddenly disappeared, and in its place was a downed fox.
A very famous legend in Japan tells of a fox named Tamamo no Mae. This legend is also mentioned in “The Tale of the House of Taira,” where it is told by Prince Taira no Shigemori.
Originally, the white fox with nine tails lived in India. Turning into a beautiful girl, she called herself Hua-Yang and was able to bewitch the king of India, Pan-Tsu. He made her his wife. Being naturally evil and cruel, she enjoyed killing thousands of innocent people. When she was exposed, the fox flew to China.
Having again turned into a beautiful girl, under the name Bao Si, she entered the harem of Emperor Yu-wang of the Zhou dynasty. She soon became a queen, still heartless and treacherous. “There was only one thing that was not to Yu-wan’s heart: Bao Si never laughed, nothing made her smile. And in that foreign country there was a custom: if there was a rebellion somewhere, they lit bonfires and beat big drums, summoning the warriors. Bonfires These were called "feng huo" - signal lights. One day an armed riot began and the signal lights came on. "So many lights! How beautiful!" - Bao Si exclaimed when she saw these lights and smiled for the first time. And her smile alone contained endless charm...".
The emperor, for the sake of his wife’s pleasure, ordered signal fires to be burned day and night, although there was no need for this. Soon the warriors stopped gathering, seeing these lights, and then it happened that the capital was besieged by enemies, but no one came to defend it. The emperor himself died, and the fox, taking on its real form, flew to Japan (according to another version, it died along with the emperor and was reborn in Japan).
In Japan, the fox was named Tamamo no Mae. She took the form of a dazzlingly beautiful girl and became a court lady. One day at midnight, when a holiday was being held in the palace, a mysterious wind rose and blew out all the lamps. At that moment, everyone saw that a bright glow began to emanate from Tamamo no Mae.
Kikukawa Eizan. Geisha playing kitsune-ken (fox-ken), an early Japanese rock-paper-scissor or sansukumi-ken game.
Then Tamamo no Mae turned into a fox and fled to the Nasu Plain. She killed people on her way. By order of the emperor, two courtiers went after her. But the fox turned into the Sessho-Seki stone, which killed everyone who approached it. Even birds fell dead while flying over it. Only in the XIII century. a Buddhist monk named Genno destroyed it with the power of his prayers. T. W. Johnson notes that this Japanese legend looks as if it was transformed from a Chinese legend, which in turn may have had an Indian basis.
In addition to transformations, foxes also know how to fool and bewitch people and animals. As Kiyoshi Nozaki notes, "it is believed that when a fox bewitches people, the number of its victims is limited to one or two". However, this rule does not always work. Ihara Saikaku's story "Faithful Vassals of the Foxes" tells how a rice merchant named Monbye, passing a mountain path in a deserted place, saw a whole bunch of white fox cubs. Without much thought, he threw a pebble at them and hit one little fox right in the head - he died on the spot.
After this, the foxes took revenge on Monbøe himself and members of his family for a long time, introducing themselves to them either as the guards of the steward or pretending to be a funeral ceremony. Eventually the foxes shaved their heads and that was the end of it. The story of a fox cutting off his hair was quite common. The story "The Fox Named Genkuro" talks about a fox whose main pastimes were cutting off women's hair and breaking clay pots. When in Edo at the end of the 18th century. a maniac appeared who cut off women's hair, he was called the "hair-cutting fox."
However, usually the fox only bewitches one person. A frequent plot of stories is when a fox, having turned into a beautiful girl, takes a man with her to her “home”. "The Story of a Man Driven Mad by a Fox and Saved by the Goddess of Mercy" from Konjaku Monogatari tells of a man who lived for 13 days in his own basement, thinking that he had been living in the rich house of a beautiful princess for three years.
In a story from Asai Ryoi's Otogiboko entitled "The Story of the Samurai Hosted by Foxes," the main character was found in a fox hole, and he himself believed that he was in a magnificent estate and playing sugoroku with the aunt of the princess he had previously saved. . Creating illusions with a fox also involves time management.
In the legend "The Adventures of Visu" the main character sees two women playing Go in a forest clearing: “After sitting in the clearing for three hundred years, which seemed to Vis only a few midday hours, he saw that one of the playing women had made the wrong move. “Wrong, beautiful lady!” Vis exclaimed excitedly. Immediately both strangers turned into foxes and ran away.”.
Foxes, despite their bestial nature, are still characters from the other world. Therefore, it is not surprising that their time flows according to the laws of another world. On the other hand, perhaps there is some hint here that games of Go do sometimes take a very long time - they can last for months.
Fox charms have become a proverb in Japan. There is an episode in Genji Monogatari where Prince Genji is mistaken for a werefox because he wears a regular hunting dress, but acts too polite for someone of his rank. Genji himself calls himself a fox in a loving conversation with a lady: “Indeed,” Genji smiled, “which of us is a werewolf fox? Don’t resist my charms,” he said affectionately, and the woman submitted to him, thinking: “Well, apparently, so be it.”.
The fox bewitches people by wagging its tail. This motif is central to the story told by a resident of Kobe, Miyagi Prefecture.
The narrator sees a man sitting under a large tree in a deserted place. He behaves like a madman: he bows to someone, laughs cheerfully and seems to be drinking sake from a cup. The fox sitting behind him stretched out his tail to its full length and with its tip it seemed to be drawing a circle on the ground. The narrator throws a stone at the fox, it runs away, and the enchanted man suddenly comes to his senses and cannot understand where he is.
It turns out that he was on his way to a wedding in a neighboring village and was carrying salted salmon as a gift. Apparently, the fox was flattered by him. In addition to people, foxes can also cast illusions on animals.
In the book "Kitsune. Japanese Fox: Mysterious, Romantic and Funny," among others, there are stories about how a fox bewitches a horse, a rooster and a crow. It is noteworthy that when the fox tried to charm the rooster, she "stood on her hind legs and beckoned the rooster to her with her front paw like a maneki-neko".
Beliefs about fox witchcraft sometimes turned into grotesque situations. Lafcadio Hearn tells the story of a farmer who saw the massive eruption of the Bandai-san volcano in 1881. The huge volcano was literally torn apart, all life in a space of 27 square miles around was destroyed. The eruption leveled forests, caused rivers to flow backward, and entire villages and their inhabitants were buried alive.
However, the old peasant, who observed all this, standing on the top of a neighboring mountain, looked at the disaster indifferently, as if at a theatrical performance.
He saw a black column of ash that rose to a height of 20 thousand pounds and then fell, taking the shape of a giant umbrella and blocking the sun. He felt a strange rain begin to fall, burning like water in a hot spring.
After that everything went black; the mountain beneath him shook, thunder rang out, so terrible, as if the whole world had broken in half. However, the peasant remained unperturbed until it was all over. He decided not to be afraid of anything, because he was sure: everything he sees, hears and feels is just fox witchcraft.
An interesting phenomenon is also the so-called “kitsune-bi”, or “fox fire”. It was the tricks of the fox that the Japanese explained the famous phenomenon of “stray lights”, which is widespread throughout the world. It is worth immediately clarifying that he was given other explanations, which will be discussed below. Kiyoshi Nozaki identifies four types of kitsune-bi: a cluster of small lights; one or two large fireballs; the moment when all the windows in several large buildings standing nearby are illuminated; fox wedding
Ando Hiroshige's engraving "Fox Lights at the Iron Tree of Dressing in Oji" from the series "One Hundred Views of Edo" depicts a whole flock of white foxes, with a small light hovering at the nose of each of them, supported by its breath. According to a story from the collection “Issho-wa” (1811), fire comes out of the fox’s mouth when it jumps and frolics, and it exists only at the moment when the fox exhales air.
Another common motif is that foxes have a small stone, white and round, with which they produce fox fire. In “Konjaku Monogatari” in “The Story of the Fox Who Thanked the Samurai for Returning Her a Precious Ball,” a white stone is described, for the return of which the fox not only abandoned the woman she had possessed before, but also saved the life of the one who returned the stone.
An interesting phenomenon is “kitsune no yomeiri” - “fox wedding”. This is the name given to the weather when it rains and the sun shines at the same time. It is believed that at this moment you can see a certain procession in the distance, brightly lit by torches. Having reached a certain place, she disappears without a trace.
In the story “The Fox's Wedding” (1741), a richly dressed samurai comes to the ferryman and tells him that the daughter of the master whom the samurai himself serves is getting married that evening.
Therefore, he asks to leave all the boats on this shore so that with their help the entire wedding procession can cross to the other shore. The samurai gives the ferryman a koban, who, surprised by the guest's generosity, readily agrees. The wedding procession arrives around midnight, all lit up with lights. She boards boats, each with several torchbearers. However, soon they all disappear into the darkness of the night without a trace, never reaching the shore. The next morning the owner saw a dry leaf in place of the coin.
Foxes were also credited with the ability to inhabit people. This state was usually called "kitsune-tsuki", or "kitsune-tai" - "obsession with a fox." B. H. Chamberlain writes the following about this: “Obsession with a fox (kitsune-tsuki) is a form of nervous disorder or mania, quite often observed in Japan. Penetrating into a person, sometimes through the chest, but more often through the gap between the finger and the nail, the fox lives its own life, separate from the personality of the one in whom she has taken possession. The result is a double existence of a person and his double consciousness. The possessed person hears and understands everything that the fox says or thinks from within; they often enter into loud and fierce arguments, and the fox speaks in a voice completely different from the normal voice of this person. ".
Lafcadio Hearn describes those possessed by foxes: “The madness of those possessed by a fox is mysterious. Sometimes they run naked through the streets, screaming desperately. Sometimes they fall on their backs and yap like foxes, foaming at the mouth. Sometimes those possessed suddenly develop a strange tumor under their skin that seems to live Poke it with your own life and it will immediately move. And even with force it is impossible to squeeze it without slipping between your fingers. how foxes moved in. They only eat what foxes are believed to love: tofu (bean curd), aburaage.(fried tofu) azuki-mashi(red adzuki beans cooked with rice) etc. - and they consume all this with great eagerness, claiming that it is not they who are hungry, but the foxes that have taken possession of them.".
The story about the introduction of a fox into a person is found in “Nihon ryoiki” (scroll 3, story two). A sick man comes to the monk Eigo and asks him to be cured. For many days Eigo tried to banish the disease, but the patient did not get better. And then, “swearing to cure him at all costs, [Eigo] continued to read spells. Then the spirit took possession of the sick man, and he said: “I am a fox and will not yield to you. Monk, stop fighting me." [Eigo] asked: "What's the matter?" [Spirit] replied: "This man killed me in my last birth, and I take revenge on him. When he dies, he will be reborn as a dog and will bite me to death." The amazed monk tried to guide [the spirit] on the true path, but he did not give in and tortured [the patient] to death."
The next example of fox obsession can be found in Kon-jaku Monogatari. The legend is called "The story of the warlord Toshihito, who hired a fox for his guest, using his power over her." It tells how Toshihito, on the way to his own estate, catches a fox and demands that it bring news of the arrival of him and his guest. When they arrive at the estate, the amazed servants tell them the following: “At about eight in the evening, your wife felt a sharp pain in her chest. We did not know what had happened to her. Some time later she spoke: “I am none other than a fox. I met your master today at the Mitsu-no-Hama River. He decided to suddenly return home from the capital, and a guest was traveling with him. I wanted to run away from him, but in vain - he caught me. He rides a horse much faster than I can run. He told me to find the estate and give it to the people so that they would bring two saddled horses to Takashima by ten the next morning. If I don’t pass this on, then I will be punished.".
In the story “The Fox the Matchmaker” from the collection “Mimi-bukuro” (compiled by Negishi Shizue, 18th century) there is a story about the introduction of a fox into a dishonest man who promised the girl to marry her, but he himself left and no longer answered her letters . The girl began to pray to the deity Inari, and in response to her prayers he sends a fox, which possesses her deceiving lover, tells the whole story to his father and demands a receipt from him that he will definitely organize the wedding ceremony.
During the Heian era (794 - 1185), fox possession was considered a kind of disease. Even then it was believed that foxes came in different ranks, depending on their strength. When a person is possessed by a low-ranking fox, he simply begins to shout something like: “I am Inari-kami-sama!” or “Give me azuki-mashi!”
When a person is possessed by a top-ranking fox, it is very difficult to understand. The person looks sick and lethargic, he spends most of his time in oblivion, sometimes only coming to his senses. Despite this, the possessed person cannot sleep at night, and he needs constant supervision, since the fox's victim will try to commit suicide.
The belief about fox possession survived virtually unchanged until the beginning of the 20th century. If a person fell ill with something and had symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations and a morbid interest in something, then such an illness was attributed to fox possession. Moreover, as Kiyoshi Nozaki notes, any disease that was difficult to cure was considered “kitsune-tai” and monks were invited instead of doctors38. Some people with mental disorders simply began to pretend to be possessed by a fox when they heard that they might have one.
This phenomenon is not at all surprising if we remember that in Japanese society almost all inexplicable phenomena were considered the tricks of a fox. Consequently, in case of a mysterious illness, the fox was also remembered first.
T. W. Johnson, in his article “Far Eastern Folklore about Foxes,” notes that the fox most often possessed women. When a young wife was possessed by a fox, she could say whatever she wanted about her mother-in-law and other in-laws without risking their wrath.
It also gave her a break from her daily responsibilities. We can note here the similarity between the obsession with foxes and hysteria among Russian women. We also find information about fox possession in the Ainu tradition.
Beliefs about magical foxes have survived to this day. The theme of a fox inhabiting a person is also popular in modern popular culture. In the animated series Naruto, the main character, teenager Uzumaki Naruto, is possessed by a nine-tailed fox that was sealed within his body. The fox, according to classical ideas, tries to take over the hero's body, but also gives Naruto its enormous strength in battles with enemies.
In addition, magical foxes appear in the animated series Triplexaholic. The protagonist of the series, Watanuki Kimihiro, one day finds a traditional oden diner in the city, which is run by two foxes - father and son. They both walk on their hind legs and wear human clothing. Papa Fox tells Kimihiro that humans usually cannot see them, and they have never been visited by people as young as him (a hint that humans, like foxes, develop magical abilities with age!).
Of course, the number of animated and feature films that deal with magical foxes is not limited to the above examples. Currently, werefoxes have firmly taken the place of mythological characters that are associated with nostalgia for old Japan.
It would be appropriate to note that the image of the werewolf-fox in our time has moved from the sphere of folklore to the sphere of folklorism; now it can only be found in children's fairy tales, cartoons and legends, stylized in an “antique” style. Due to the movement of the bulk of the population from the village to the city, lower mythology becomes predominantly urban, and traditional demonological images are replaced by new characters from urban legends.
In Japanese beliefs, magical foxes have several distinct traits. Speaking of appearance, it is worth noting that werewolf animals are always somehow different from their ordinary relatives. In foxes, this is expressed through a predominantly white color and multiple tails, however, these signs are characteristic only of old, “experienced” foxes in transformation.
Transformation into a human is the second distinctive feature of magical foxes. There are many motives for this, ranging from mischief to vampirism. The third characteristic feature is the ability of foxes to create illusions.
Magic foxes are considered masters of illusion; they are capable of not only completely transforming the space around a person, but also creating a completely independent flow of time there.
Xi Jinping, Chairman of the People's Republic of China, speaking at a symposium marking the 69th anniversary of the victory over the Japanese invaders during World War II, calling on Japan to take a more responsible approach to assessing...
Fox in Japanese mythology and its meaning
The fox, found in the myths of Japan, China, and Korea, is a spirit, but not endowed with evil or good character traits. In the mythology of these countries, foxes are different, they have both similarities and differences. Their purpose is to monitor the balance of good and evil. The fox in Japanese mythology is called Kitsune.
Types of foxes in mythology
In Japanese mythology there are two types of foxes, red kitsune And Hokkaido fox. They are both endowed with knowledge, they have a long life, they have magical abilities. Foxes, according to myths, are able to move quickly, they have very good eyesight and sense of smell, and read people’s secret thoughts. It is believed that the life of a fox is not much different from the life of people, they walk on two legs,
Japanese mythology and folklore about foxes Kitsune - translated from Japanese, fox spirit. If you pay attention to folklore in Japan, a kitsune is a type of demon, although it is more accurate to say a mischief maker rather than a demon.
The sacred meaning of the fox
Any part of the fox's body is equipped with magic; by hitting it with its tail, it may cause a fire. She can change her appearance, turning either into a beautiful girl or into an old man, but this can be done when the fox reaches 100 years of age; before that she cannot do this. But this is not her main skill, she can move into a person, has magical knowledge, can travel in people’s dreams, and, like a fire-breathing dragon, breathes out fire.
In addition, they are often credited with such incredible abilities as turning into plants of unusual height and shape or creating a second celestial body. This all shows how powerful they are. Some myths describe how kitsune guard certain objects whose shape resembles a ball or pear. There is an assumption that whoever becomes the owner of this item will be able to subjugate the kutsine.
Since this ball contains part of their magic, they will be forced to obey, otherwise they will face a decrease in their level and the loss of part of their power.
In mythology there are two types of Kitsune:
- Myobu- a divine fox, she is often associated with Inari, and she is the goddess of rice, which is why she is considered the messenger of God.
- Nogitsune- a wild fox, according to myths she is often evil, her intentions are unkind.
The special significance of the fox in Japanese mythology is quite understandable; the fox is the messenger of the god Inari, who often does good deeds for people. In some cases, foxes are credited with unusual skills; they can create illusions when a person can lose reality.
Changing meaning of the fox in mythology
Having reached the age of 1000 years, the fox in Japanese mythology becomes stronger, it grows from 1 to 9 tails, the color of the fur also changes, it can be white or silver or even gold. In general, according to myths, foxes live a very long time, up to 8000 years. nine tailed fox in Japanese mythology - a creature endowed 
great abilities. According to myth, the god Inari brought the silver foxes closer to him, they began to serve him, swearing that they must always keep this oath.
In some legends, Inari is also represented as a fox, but in fact, this is a deity; there are always figurines of foxes next to his shrines, and before, live foxes were always kept near Inari temples.
The most famous and revered is the spirit - guardian of the Kyuubi, this is also a fox, they are considered the most intelligent and cunning creatures. They choose a lost soul and protect it for 2 days, but for some there is an exception and Kyuubi stays with this soul for much longer. The role of such a fox is to protect the lost soul; it accompanies them until incarnation. These foxes may even have multiple souls that they help.
Often evil kutsine are shown to be deceivers, but for their pranks they choose people with the shortcomings of proud, evil, greedy.
Fox is the guardian of the family
The belief that foxes can become guardians of the family in Japan has been preserved, but the owner of a fox cannot be an ordinary person; this is only available to certain groups that belong to the same community. It is possible to join it only by becoming related to them, or by buying a house or land from them. Usually they try to reduce communication with such people because the neighbors are afraid of how their defender may react to them.
Some legends tell stories of foxes turning into beautiful women; cunning, dexterous foxes were skilled seductresses. They skillfully used this, seduced men and often became their wives. In such marriages, children were born who had special qualities.
The devotion of foxes' wives is noted in legends; they could live long enough, hiding their appearance, but if the real essence is revealed, the fox must leave her husband. But there are exceptions, according to one of the legends: the wife, frightened by the dogs, turned into a fox, but the husband, who loved her very much, could not part with her, especially since they had children. Lisa could not leave her family and returned every night.
If translated literally, kutsine means, let's go get some sleep. But this story is an exception; in all the others, the foxes left. It should be noted that children born from the wives of foxes had special abilities that are not available to humans, but they could not turn into foxes. Some of the stories tell about unsuccessful stories of foxes seducing men, when, due to inexperience, she poorly disguised her tail. 
But it should be noted that the listed species of foxes are not all, there are many more of them.
For example, white fox Byakko, a good sign, she is a real messenger of the gods. black fox There is no need to be afraid either, it is associated with goodness. And here Fox Cuco this is an evil creature that needs to be feared, but it should be noted that the Japanese love their foxes, treat them with respect, it is believed that the souls of dead people move into the fox, these explain the fact that fox holes can often be found near burial places of people .
Video: Kitsune Fox Fashion Show
Japanese demonology is quite an interesting subject to study. At first glance, it seems that no other mythology has such a huge number of deities, demons, spirits and other otherworldly entities.
Kitsune is a very interesting, multifaceted and contradictory character. The power of this creature aroused fear, envy and respect. It is not surprising that kitsune tattoos are so popular, the meaning of which we will reveal today.
Youkai kitsune
In Japanese mythology, kitsune is classified as a type of youkai, that is, a demon. However, demons in the Eastern understanding differ significantly from European ideas.
Kitsune is a werefox that can transform into a human. She can live for a very long time, according to some sources more than a thousand years. This demonic fox can have up to nine tails, the more of them, the more powerful the kitsune. Legends say that it grows a new tail every hundred years, and with it receives new powers.
Kitsune has powerful magical abilities. The fox can penetrate the human mind, enslave it, and create illusions indistinguishable from reality. They often use their gift to punish an overly greedy merchant or an arrogant samurai. A kitsune can become a guide for a lost soul and show it the right path. Usually the fox leaves a person when he no longer needs her help, but sometimes she can stay with him and accompany him for many years, protecting and helping in everything.
There are many legends about the transformation of kitsune into humans. These are mainly romantic legends about how a fox takes the form of a beautiful girl, meets a young man and marries him. The ending of such stories is usually tragic: the girl accidentally reveals herself, everyone finds out about her fox essence, and she has to leave her home and husband. But there are legends with a happy ending: when a husband finds out that his wife is a werewolf, he accepts her for who she is, and the spouses live together happily ever after. There are beliefs that describe how kitsune turn into men in order to date women, or into elders. Young kitsune, when taking human form, often cannot hide their tail, which is why they are exposed.
It is believed that the image of kitsune migrated from Chinese myths to Japanese and Korean myths. However, if in Korea and China the werefox is considered an evil and cruel creature, then in Japan it is more often perceived as a good spirit, an assistant to Inari - the god of rice fields, fertility and abundance, the patron saint of entrepreneurs. Inari himself is also depicted as a fox.
Personal Guardian
A tattoo of a nine-tailed fox can become your talisman. What will the kitsune say about you:
- Dexterity and resourcefulness. The owner of such a tattoo easily finds a way out of the most difficult situations. He does not fall into despair, even when it seems that everything is lost. He does not waste precious time on empty worries, but looks for ways to solve the problem.
- Extraordinary mind. The magical talents of a kitsune can be perceived as a symbol of mental acuity. This tattoo is chosen by people for whom intellectual development and the thirst for new knowledge come first.
- Charm. Just as a kitsune creates illusions, forcing people to believe in them, so the bearer of the image of a werefox is able to charm others in order to achieve his goal. We can talk about either simple charm or malicious manipulation of people.
- Stealth. Kitsune has to hide her true nature from people. The owner of such a tattoo does not let anyone get too close to him, he guards the boundaries of his personal space, and keeps secrets that will remain secrets forever.
- Wealth. The fox, as the companion of the god of abundance and fertility, promises its owner a life of abundance. Such a tattoo can be a talisman that brings good luck in financial matters.
Image of a kitsune in a tattoo
Japanese demon tattoo style. Works in the oriental style are never small, because it is not just a drawing, but a whole picture with its own plot. The fox is depicted against the backdrop of dark waves, traditional for oriental art, and complemented with various decorative elements, for example, skulls and flowers. More often you can see an aggressive fox in the Chinese or Korean style, but images of good spirits are not uncommon.
Kyuubi (actually a kitsune). They are considered smart, cunning creatures that can transform into people. They obey Inari, the goddess of cereal plants. These animals have great knowledge, long life, and magical abilities. Chief among them, I repeat, is the ability to take the form of a person; the fox, according to legend, learns to do this after reaching a certain age (usually a hundred years, although in some legends it is fifty). They usually take the form of a seductive beauty, a pretty young girl, but sometimes they also turn into old men. Other capabilities usually attributed kitsune, include the ability to inhabit other people's bodies, breathe or otherwise create fire, appear in other people's dreams, and the ability to create illusions so complex that they are almost indistinguishable from reality. Some of the tales go further, talking about having the ability to bend space and time, drive people crazy, or take on such inhuman or fantastic forms as trees of indescribable height or a second moon in the sky.
Associated with both and beliefs. IN kitsune associated with Inari, the patron deity of rice fields and entrepreneurship. Foxes were originally the messengers (tsukai) of this deity, but now the difference between them has become so blurred that Inari himself is sometimes depicted as a fox. In Buddhism, they gained fame thanks to the Shingon school of secret Buddhism, popular in the 9th-10th centuries in Japan, one of the main deities of which, Dakini, was depicted riding across the sky on a fox.
In folklore kitsune is a type of youkai, that is, a demon. In this context, the word "kitsune" is often translated as "fox spirit." However, this does not necessarily mean that they are not living creatures or that they are anything other than foxes. The word "spirit" in this case is used in the Eastern sense, reflecting a state of knowledge or insight. Any fox that lives long enough can thus become a "fox spirit." There are two main types of kitsune: the myōbu, or divine fox, often associated with Inari, and the nogitsune, or wild fox (literally "field fox"), often, but not always, described as evil, with malicious intent.
It can have up to nine tails. In general, it is believed that the older and stronger the fox, the more tails it has. Some sources even claim that kitsune grows an additional tail every hundred or thousand years of its life. However, foxes found almost always have one, five, or nine tails.
When nine tails are obtained, their fur turns silver, white, or gold. These kyubi no kitsune (“nine-tailed foxes”) receive the power of infinite insight. Similarly, in Korea it is said that a fox who lives for a thousand years turns into Kumiho (literally "nine-tailed fox"), but the Korean fox is always portrayed as evil, unlike the Japanese fox, which can be either benevolent or malevolent. Chinese folklore also has "fox spirits" in many ways similar to , including the possibility of nine tails.
In some stories, they have difficulty hiding their tail in human form (usually foxes in such stories have only one tail, which may be an indication of the fox's weakness and inexperience). An attentive hero can expose a drunken or careless fox who has turned into a human by seeing its tail through its clothes.
One of the famous ones is also Great Guardian Spirit Kyuubi. This is a guardian spirit and protector who helps young “lost” souls on their path in the current incarnation. Kyubi usually stays for a short time, only a few days, but in the case of attachment to one soul, it can accompany it for years. This a rare type of kitsune that rewards a lucky few with its presence and assistance.
In Japanese folklore, they are often described as tricksters, sometimes very evil ones at that. Kitsune Tricksters use their magical powers to play pranks: those who are shown in a benevolent light tend to target overly proud samurai, greedy merchants and boastful people, while the more cruel kitsune seek to torture poor merchants, farmers and Buddhist monks.
They are also often described as mistresses. In such stories there is usually a young man and a kitsune disguised as a woman. Sometimes kitsune the role of a seductress is attributed, but often such stories are rather romantic. In such stories, the young man usually marries the beauty (not knowing that she is a fox) and attaches great importance to her devotion. Many such stories have a tragic element: they end with the discovery of a fox entity, after which she must leave her husband.
The oldest known story of fox wives, which provides the folk etymology of the word kitsune, is an exception in this sense. Here the fox takes the form of a woman and marries a man, after which the two, after spending several happy years together, have several children. Her fox essence is unexpectedly revealed when, in the presence of many witnesses, she is afraid of a dog, and in order to hide, she takes on her true appearance. prepares to leave home, but her husband stops her, saying: “Now that we have been together for several years and you have given me several children, I cannot just forget you. Please, let’s go and sleep.” The fox agrees, and since then returns to her husband every night in the form of a woman, leaving the next morning in the form of a fox. After that they began to call her kitsune- because In classical Japanese, kitsu-ne means “let’s go and sleep.”, while ki-tsune means "always coming."
The offspring of marriages between people and kitsune usually attributed special physical and/or supernatural properties. The exact nature of these properties, however, varies greatly from one source to another. Among those believed to have such extraordinary powers is the famous onmyoji Abe no Seimei, who was a hanyo (half-demon), the son of a human and a kitsune.
Rain falling from a clear sky is sometimes called kitsune no yomeiri or “kisune wedding.”
Many people believe that kitsune came to Japan from China.
Chinese and Japanese mythologies are rich in spirits, deities and their heroes. In addition, they have many animals endowed with special powers. Kitsune is one of them.
General information about kitsune foxes
Kitsune is a fox spirit with multiple tails. They say that the more tails they have, the older and wiser they are. However, most often the limit is nine tails, although sometimes fewer are found. Kitsune is an evil and cunning spirit, a trickster, who often does evil to people: from entangling travelers to murder. Most often he is just joking, because foxes are not negative heroes, but rather anti-heroes. So, usually people get off with fear or embarrassment. There are, however, worse situations, but in these situations the kitsune do not set themselves the task of making a joke, but purposefully cause harm to a person.
Kitsune are magical creatures. In addition to intelligence and cunning, they are endowed with magical abilities: they can create and control fire, inhabit people, create illusions indistinguishable from reality, and turn into people. Most often - in young girls, although sometimes you can see a man. There are many legends where kitsune, having turned into a girl, scared and made fun of passers-by. There are, however, stories where women lived in human form for so long that they started a family, children, and only then their essence was revealed. In one of these stories, the husband, having loved his wife so much, persuaded her to stay in the family, despite her origin.
Vengeful foxes are more common in Chinese mythology, where the kitsune is more of an antagonist than an antihero. In Chinese myths, foxes, turning into humans, could force samurai to commit seppuku (or harakiri) if he somehow harmed them.
In Japanese mythology, kitsune were servants of the goddess (or god, in different sources) Inari, “connecting” with the world of people. It was believed that if a fox went against a person, then he had somehow insulted Inari and was thus punished. However, there is the opposite opinion: the spirit that brings evil is an exile and acts without divine direction. Moreover, in Japan it was believed that any fox was associated with Inari, and later a cult of foxes was formed. For example, emperors were given figurines of byakko (“white fox,” the highest rank of kitsune), and monuments to the kitsune themselves were erected in some temples.
Types of kitsune
The type of kitsune depends on its gender, age, abilities, whether it can harm people, and even the time of day when it is most active. There are thirteen types in total, two of which are “main”: byakko and nogitsune. As you might guess, byakko is the most positive fox, “divine” and “white,” and nogitsune is its complete opposite.
1 Byakko
The most positive and kind fox. A servant of Inari, in the temple of this goddess (god) in Kyoto there is a byakko shrine, where barren and unfortunate women came to pray, asking for blessings and mercy. Since ancient times, seeing a white fox has been a sign of good luck, and figurines of these foxes were often given as gifts to emperors.
2 Genko
Genko is essentially the same as byakko, but black. Also a good omen, also a benevolent spirit. However, it is much less common.
3 Reiko
Reiko - "Ghost Fox" Most often used in stories about kitsune - tricksters who possessed people or played pranks on them. By the way, in modern Japan there is a female name Reiko and is widely used.
4 Yakan
Initially, it was mistakenly believed that “yakan” was an older name for kitsune. Later it was believed that it was a synonym. But then it was proven that “yakan” was the name of a small animal with a tail that could climb trees; it was even closer to a dog than to a fox. But already at the end of the 17th century they began to believe that the Yakan was one of the most terrible, evil and dangerous kitsune.
5 Current
Toka is the name of the kitsune that walks at night. In the province of Hitachi, this name is used to describe the most common white fox, byakko. The toka is said to bring rice, which is why the name of this species is translated as “rice-bringer.”
6
Koryo is a kitsune that possesses a person. This is what any kitsune was called when they inhabited a person. This word does not play a greater role.
7 Cuco
Kuko - "Air Fox". A character from Chinese mythology who did not take root in Japan. One of the common names for kitsune as a spirit.
8 Tenko
Tenko is another divine fox (or air fox). According to some sources, tenko is a fox that has reached a thousand or eight hundred years. For Japanese mythology it is nothing special, but for the Chinese it may have been compared with tengu (air spirits).
9 Jinko
Jinko is a male kitsune. Due to the fact that in myths and legends foxes usually turn into girls, a special name was invented for those who turned into boys. This name is used both for those men who have turned into kitsune and for those kitsune who have turned into men.
10 Shakko
Shakko - "Red Fox". It was not found in Japanese myths, but in China it was considered both a good and a bad omen. Externally, it differs from an ordinary red fox only in the large number of tails.
11 Yako
Yako - "Field Fox". Just the name kitsune, it does not carry any positive or negative things.
12 Tome and Miobu
These names are associated with the cult of Inari. Tome was only used in temples, and "myobu" originally meant court ladies or soothsayers. Due to the presence of soothsayers in the temples, the name could have passed on to the foxes themselves. Apart from temples, these names were not seen anywhere.
13 Nogitsune
Nogitsune - "Wild Fox". An evil spirit of a kitsune, close to the yakan and reiko. This name was used only in cases where they talked about revenge or murder by foxes. However, it was used quite infrequently in literature, but secured its status as an evil spirit.
In the modern world, few people besides those who are interested in Eastern culture have heard about kitsune. The popularity of this creature was brought by the series “Teen Wolf”, where the plot was twisted around the spirit. But in the series, the kitsune himself is shown in slightly different shape: they do not turn into him and the heroes remain human all the time, and their tails are kept in a special box and they are made of metal.
But in any case, Asian mythology is full of various interesting creatures that are worth your attention.
