The only way to kill a kitsune is to cut off all of its tails, as it is said that one of the tails is its main tail and the source of all its power. Not knowing which tail is the main one, one would have to cut off all its tails to kill it.
One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. A kitsune is a shapeshifter, and usually when it reaches the age of years, it learn the ability to take on a human form. Thus, they have to be a fox for a hundred years before it can shapeshift from a fox to a human and back again. It is also said that a kitsune can duplicate other human beings, in other words shapeshift into the look-a-likes of different people.
Kitsune can be either male or female, and usually take the form of young Japanese girls, beautiful women and older men. Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes.
Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities. There are two common classifications of kitsune. Local traditions add further types. For example, a ninko is an invisible fox spirit that human beings can only perceive when it posseses them.
Another tradition classifies kitsune into one of thirteen types defined by which supernatural abilities the kitsune possesses. Physically, kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom Omniscence.
One of the most important things to a Kitsune is freedom. They do not fare well to being locked away, and do not like to be forced to do something they don't want to. Doing something like that would be likely to get you killed if they are freed. Kitsune love playing tricks. They like to take things and hide them from people, or do just about anything else to piss someone off. Kitsunes' have things called Kitsune balls, or star balls, which is a small white-gold ball that is a Kitsune's most prized possession, since it is almost like their life force in a ball.
If you get your hands on a Kitsune's star ball, you would have the ability to control the Kitsune, and make it do your bidding. However, Kitsune hate being stripped of their freedom, and when the Kitsune gets its star ball back, there will be serious repercussions for you to deal with.
In some stories, kitsune have difficulty hiding their tails when they take human form; looking for the tail, perhaps when the fox gets drunk or careless, is a common method of discerning the creature's true nature. Variants on the theme have the kitsune retain other foxlike traits, such as a coating of fine hair, a fox-shaped shadow, or a reflection that shows its true form. Kitsune-gao or fox-faced refers to human females who have a narrow face with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones.
Traditionally, this facial structure is considered attractive, and some tales ascribe it to foxes in human form. This inro dates back to the Edo era, evidencing the rich tradition of kitsune within artistic iconography.
The kitsune are again linked to the shrine in the background. They were sometimes shown as having more than one tail — the more they had, the older and wiser they were. The fox isn't the only animal the crops up a lot in Japanese art.
Check out these 10 Great Cat Paintings! This early nineteenth-century netsuke a traditional Japanese ornament carved from wood, often used to suspend items from the sash of a kimono , shows the kitsune in a sculptural form, and alluding to the more mysterious and sly connotations that foxes often embody in Western culture.
Concealed in layers of drapery, these items show how the kitsune also were used as icons within material culture, as well as two dimensional pieces. Want to learn more about the wonderful mythic capacity of the Japanese Fox? You can get your copy at Amazon.
This beautiful image of a white fox combines iconography of fresh flowers and foliage, creating a sense of a balmy, humid evening, as the painting is bathed in a hazy mist. Its creator, Kanetsu Hashimoto, was well known for his elegant paintings of Japanese wildlife. If you're not familar with nihonga art, you should defintely take a look at our Concise Guide to get to know some of this incredible art.
Here, the fox shifts to yet another shape; the fox demon. In Japanese folklore, there are stories about kitsune tricking people from all manners of life. The cruel Japanese foxes target the bad traits of humans, such as pride, greed, and vanity.
For their own entertainment, these kitsune can bring down even the most devout priest. They rarely attack women but prefer to possess them instead. Then, using their fox fire kitsune ability, they lure unsuspecting men to their doom. Not every non-divine Japanese kitsune is a trickster. There are many stories in Japanese folklore of kitsune falling in love with a human man and choosing to live out their lives in the human world.
She proves to be a very loyal and good wife. But once the man discovers mostly by accident that his wife is a fox, she must flee to escape from the villagers. The most famous Japanese fox wife is Kuzunoha , the mother of strong magic user Abe no Seimei. When rain is falling on a clear sky, Japanese people say two kitsune are getting married. Of course, this is considered to be a good omen. Maybe the idea of having a Japanese kitsune near you is not appealing at all.
Or perhaps someone you know is possessed by a Japanese kitsune. Here is a handy step-by-step guide to recognize and expel an unwanted kitsune, according to Japanese folklore. If none of these steps seem to work, bring your friend to your local Inari shrine, and they will take care of it. There are not many tips on how to attract a Japanese kitsune in case you want a devoted kitsune wife. However, to attract a kitsune, try leaving some fried tofu on your doorstep.
Of course, you could also spend some time at an Inari Shrine in Japan and see if you can find a kitsune. Log in or Sign up to leave a comment. The Nostalgic Charm of Nihombashi.
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