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| '''Kitsune''' is the Japanese word for ''fox''.
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| There are two subspecies of foxes in Japan, named ''Red Fox'' and ''Hondo Kitsune'', and they are both related to mythological belief in Japasese [[folklore]].
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| ==Description==
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| '''Kitsune''' are believed to possess great intelligence, long life, and magical powers. Foremost among these is the ability to [[Therianthropy|shapeshifting]] into human form; a fox is said to learn to do this when it attains a certain age (usually a hundred years, though some tales say fifty).
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| '''Kitsune''' usually appears in the shape of a beautiful woman, a young girl, or an old man, but almost never an elderly woman.
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| ===Etymology===
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| The word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit [[ghost]]s, however this doesn’t mean that they are not living creatures, nor that they are not foxes.
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| The word spirit is used in its Eastern meaning, reflecting a state of knowledge or enlightenment.
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| Any fox who lives sufficiently long, therefore, can be a fox spirit.
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| There are two major types of kitsune; the ''myobu'', or ''celestial fox'', associated with Inari, who are presented as benevolent. and the ''nogitsune'', or ''wild fox'', who are often represented as malicious.
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| ===Appearance===
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| '''Kitsune''' are mostly noticed for is their tails as a fox may possess as many as nine of them.
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| Generally, an older and more powerful fox will possess a greater number of tails, and some sources say that a fox will only grow additional tails after they have lived for a thousand years.
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| After that period of time, the number increases based on age and wisdom (depending on the source). However, the foxes that appear in folk stories almost always possess one, five, or nine tails, not any other number.
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| When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes silver, white, or gold.
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| These nine-tailed foxes gain the power of infinite vision.
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| Similarly, in Korea a fox that lives a thousand years is said to turn into a ''kumiho'' (literally "nine-tail fox"), but the Korean fox is always depicted as [[evil]], unlike the Japanese fox, which can be either benevolent or malevolent. Chinese folklore also contains fox spirits with many similarities to kitsune, including the possibility of nine tails.
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| Looking for the fox's tail is one common method of attempting to discern the true nature of the ''kitsune'', but some sources speak of other methods to reveal its true shape. Sometimes, a shapeshifted kitsune will cast the shadow of a fox rather than of a human; other stories say that a transformed kitsune's reflection will be that of a fox.
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| ===Powers===
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| Supernatural powers commonly attributed to the kitsune include, in addition to [[Therianthropy|shapeshifting]], the ability to generate fire from their tails or to breathe fire, named kitsune-bi'', literally ''foxfire'', the power to appear in dreams, and the ability to create 'illusions' so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality.
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| Some tales go further still, speaking of kitsune with the ability to bend time and space, to drive people mad, or to take such nonhuman and fantastic shapes as a tree of incredible height or a second moon in the sky.
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| Occasionally kitsune are ascribed a characteristic reminiscent of [[vampire]] or [[succubus]] [[Incubus (demon)]] these kitsune feed on the life or spirit of humans, generally through sexual contact.
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| ==Main Belief==
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| Kitsune are often associated with the deity of rice known as '''Inari'''.
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| Originally 'kitsune were Inari’s messengers, but the line between the two has become so confused that ''Inari'' is sometimes depicted as a fox.
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| ===Behaviour===
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| In Japanese folklore, the kitsune are often presented as tricksters; sometimes very malevolent ones.
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| The tricksters kitsune employ their magical powers to play tricks on people; those portrayed in a favourable light tend to choose as targets overly-proud samurai, greedy merchants, and boastful commoners, while the more cruel kitsune tend to abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or Buddhist monks.
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| Despite their role as tricksters, however, a ''kitsune'' will keep a promise it has given and will strive to repay any favour it owes
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| Occasionally a kitsune will take a liking to and attach itself to a certain person or household; as long as it is treated with respect, it will use its powers for the benefit of its companion or hosts.
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| Kitsune are also commonly portrayed as lovers. These love stories usually involve a young human male and a kitsune who takes the form of a woman.
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| Sometimes the ''kitsune'' is assigned the role of seductress, but often these stories are romantic in nature. Such a story usually involves the young man unknowingly marrying the fox, and emphasizes the devotion of the fox-wife.
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| Many of these stories also possess a tragic element — they usually end with the discovery of the fox, who then must leave her husband. On some occasions, the husband wakes, as if from a dream, to find himself far from home, filthy, and disoriented, and must often return to confront his abandoned human family in shame.
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| Victims of ''kitsunetsuki'' were often treated cruelly in hopes of forcing the fox to leave. It was not unusual for them to be beaten or badly burned.
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| On some occasions, entire families were ostracized by their communities after a member of the family was believed to be possessed.
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| In Japan, ''kitsunetsuki'' was a common diagnosis for insanity as recently as the early [20th century. Possession was the explanation for the abnormal behaviour displayed by the afflicted individuals.
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| ==References==
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| *Addiss, Stephen. ''Japanese Ghosts & Demons: Art of the Supernatural''. New York: G. Braziller, 1985. (pp. 132-137) ISBN 0807611263
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| *Bathgate, Michael. ''The Fox's Craft in Japanese Religion and Folklore: Transformations, and Duplicities''. New York: Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0415968216
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| *Hall, Jamie. ''Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures''. Bloomington, Indiana: Authorhouse, 2003. (pp. 121-152) ISBN 1410758095
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| *Hamel, Frank. ''Human Animals: Werewolves & Other Transformations''. New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1969. (pp. 88-102) ISBN 0766167003
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| *Hearn, Lafcadio. ''Japanese Fairy Tales''. New York: Liveright, 1924. ISBN 0848602188
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| ==Links==
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| *[http://www.coyotes.org/kitsune/kitsune.html The Kitsune Page]
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| *[http://www.comnet.ca/~foxtrot/kitsune/ Foxtrot's Guide to Kitsune Lore]
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| *[http://www.kitsune.org/ Kitsune.org folklore]
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| *[http://academia.issendai.com/fox-index.shtml Kitsune, Kumiho, Huli Jing, Fox - Fox spirits in Asia, and Asian fox spirits in the West] An extensive bibliography of fox-spirit books.
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| *[http://www.jh-author.com/kitsune.htm Portal of Transformation: Kitsune in Folklore and Mythology]
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| {{wikipedia}}
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| [[Category:Japanese mythology]] [[Category:Angels and demons]]
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| [[Category:Non-corporeal]]
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