Fox in Japan: Legend and Stories …
Hello everyone and welcome back to my website OTAKUGLOBES, and today or if you reading it after the date ( yesterday ) or ( yesterday yesterday), i will tell a story about fox in japan.
Fox or （キツネ）is an animal that you can see often when you traveling to small town in japan. with it’s cute long ear, orange-red fur with white color near the mouth, neck and some part of the cute tail. The Japanese people belive that fox is a magical creature that acting as messenger for the Shinto rice deity Inari Okami. and it’s also believed that the fox has a power to shifting it’s look to look like humans ( often being a women).
If you see Naruto, you often hear the nine Tailed Fox, or kyuubi that living on the seal on the naruto stomach. in the japanese culture, a fox spirit can gain a new tail every 100 years, and when it reaching 900 years, it will gain it’s 9 tails, and when it get 1000 years it will got it’s final tail. The nine-tailed fox has a power to see and hear anything that happened in the whole world. and it’s possesses a knowledge beyond human comprehension and can command various natural elements.
In the legend, the nine tailed fox has most infamous figures, That is tamamo no mae, it’s recognize as the malevolent nine-tailed fox ( kyuubi no kitsune) and one of the three terible youkai. From the folklore that come from late heian period (12th century), she was a beautiful and intellegent woman who served Emperor Toba. She was famous captivated people with her vast knowledge, and able to answer any question. shortly after her appereance, the Emperor fell mysteriously ill. and when people discovered her true identity as a fox spirit during ritual to cure the ill Emperor. After her true form was revealed, she fled to the Nasu Plain or in the modern-day Togichi prefecture. But, unfortunately hunted down and killed by imperial warriors.
When you’re walking at night, you might see a light like a lantern. It’s believed that kitsunebi（狐火）from the kanji for fox （狐、kitsune）and for fire （火、 hi), the fox carried a lanterns or generated a flames by their tails. It’s also believed that they can breathe out balls of fire, like in the Pokémon games. The fire is typically red or orange, but sometimes appears blue or green.
You can go to Japan and take part in Kitsunebi Matsuri (Fox-Fire Festival). Which features parades, lanterns, and traditional rituals. There are several types of Kitsunebi Matsuri, such as the Hida Furukawa Fox Wedding Festival in Gifu Prefecture (near JR Hida-Furukawa Station), which takes place this year on September 26. The Oji Inari-jinja Shrine Fox Parade in Tokyo begins at Shozoku Inari-jinja Shrine and proceeds to Oji Inari Shrine in Oji, Kita Ward, Tokyo. It takes place from the evening of December 31st to the early morning of January 1st.
So everyone, that’s what I know right now about stories of foxes in Japan. If I find another story, I’ll post it on my blog, so stay tuned.