Supposedly, this same fox spirit escaped to India and then wreaked havoc as Lady Kayō in India. In a previous article, we introduced a 九尾の狐 (kyūbi no kitsune, nine-tailed fox) a motif which originated in China, who brought about the end of the Shang dynasty. When it came to more malicious tales of foxes deceiving men of power, often a nine-tailed kitsune is revealed to be the culprit. Many legends in the Otogizōshi, other Muromachi period (1336-1573) works, and Edo (1603-1868) folklore also feature foxes who possessed or transformed into beauties for men – sometimes to thank them for a favor, or at other times to trick them. In fact, there was a superstitious belief that any woman discovered alone around dusk, the time of day when foxes become active, was probably a fox spirit herself. Though they could shape shift into men, women, young, or old, foxes were often described as taking on the disguise of beautiful women. Corrupting kings and destroying dynasties, the nine-tailed femme fataleĪs mentioned above, according to Japanese lore, mature kitsune of 50 or even 100 years of age had the ability to transform into humans.

Public domain image of “Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Let’s take a look at a few characters to better understand this popular character in Japanese culture. What kind of image do these magical creatures have? According to Japanese tales, kitsune have the ability to shape shift into human form, and both their powers and wisdom increase with age. Several famous 狐 (kitsune, foxes) appear in Japanese folklore with supernatural qualities.

Types of spirits in japanese lore