![]() When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 100 years. Physically, kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. For example, a ninko is an invisible fox spirit that human beings can only perceive when it possesses them. On the other hand, the yako (野狐, literally field foxes, also called nogitsune) tend to be mischievous or even malicious. The zenko (善狐, literally good foxes) are benevolent, celestial foxes associated with Inari they are sometimes simply called Inari foxes. There are two common classifications of kitsune. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. They are a type of yōkai or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. Following several diachronic phonological changes, this becomes kitsune. These oldest sources are written in Man'yōgana which clearly identifies the historical spelling as ki1tune. Other old sources include Nihon Ryōiki (810–824) and Wamyō Ruijushō (c. The oldest known usage of the word is in the 794 text Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki. She, however, maintains that some fox stories contain elements unique to Japan. Inari scholar Karen Smyers notes that the idea of the fox as a seductress and the connection of the fox myths to Buddhism were introduced into Japanese folklore through similar Chinese stories. He states that, according to a 16th-century book of records called the Nihon Ryakki, foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan, and he contends that indigenous legends about the creatures arose as a result. the only things imported from China were the kitsune's negative attributes. Japanese folklorist Kiyoshi Nozaki argues that the Japanese regarded kitsune positively as early as the 4th century A.D. The nine-tailed foxes came to be adapted as a motif from Chinese mythology to Japanese mythology. Many of the earliest surviving stories are recorded in the Konjaku Monogatarishū, an 11th-century collection of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese narratives. Chinese folk tales tell of fox spirits called huli jing that may have up to nine tails (Kyūbi no Kitsune in Japanese). ![]() Japanese fox myths had their origins in Chinese mythology. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as a deity.Ĭonversely, foxes were often seen as "witch animals", especially during the superstitious Edo period (1603–1867), and were goblins who could not be trusted (similar to some badgers and cats). ![]() The more tails a kitsune has-they may have as many as nine-the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serves as its messengers. ![]() While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others-as foxes in folklore often do-other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.įoxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. According to Yōkai folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into men or women. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Kitsune (狐, Kitsune) is the Japanese word for fox. ![]()
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