201 replies to this topic

[Rhuen]

the most mis-understood, mis-labled, and whose myths are the most confussed with fiction other than the vampire would be the Asian fox demons,

most that people know of these comes from Anime and Manga which is all based on a single story "Tamomie Noh Mae" which is the only real story where it has more than one tail, and this one story and all the fiction since has come to be the basis for just about every bit of nothing on the English speaking internet,

if you have any information or other stories/legends of these mis-understood beings than here is the place to post them, but please specify which country the story/legend you are giving comes from, for while their apperance and powers may be similer the behavior varies from from country to the next.

Japan: Kitsune

Korea: Kimiho

China: Huli-Jing "or something really similer in spelling"

India: "I have yet to find this ones name"

and their are others in other countries and some variations on other continents.
often mistaken for Were-foxes.

[Rhuen]

some basics

. Kitsune-Tsuki
A fox spirit, or a demon who appears in the shape of a fox, in Japanese mythology. Kitsune-Tsuki ('Fox-Lunacy') is possession by such a spirit.

Kumiho (Korean Version)
by Charles La Shure

Kumiho means, literally, "nine-tailed fox." The following description appears (word for word) in both the Donga Color World Encyclopedia (Tonga wonsaek segye paekhwasajeon) and the Dusan Great World Encyclopedia (Tusan segye taebaekhwasajeon):
"A fox with nine tails that commonly appears in the oral tales of our country. It can freely transform into, among other things, a bewitching girl that seduces men. A fox that lives a thousand years is said to turn into a kumiho. There are a number of legendary tales in which the kumiho appears." A half dozen or so of those legendary tales can be found in the encyclopedic Compendium of Korean Oral Literature (Hanguk kubimunhak taegye). A quick look at them will help supplement the brief description given above.
In "Transformation of the Kumiho" ("Kumihoui pyeonshin"), a kumiho transforms into an identical likeness of a bride at a wedding, and not even the bride's mother can�t tell them apart. The kumiho is finally discovered when her clothes are removed. In "Pak Munsu and the Kumiho" ("Pakmunsuwa kumiho"), the famous character Pak Munsu encounters a girl living alone in the woods who has a distinctly fox-like appearance. "The King and the Kumiho" ("Wanggwa kumiho") tells of a king who meets a girl in the woods at night and tells her to take off her clothes after promising to save her debt-laden father. The tale records that it was too dark for the king to see whether she was actually a girl or a fox, indicating that if it had been light the difference would have been obvious. In "The Maiden who Discovered a Kumiho through a Chinese Poem" ("Hansiro kumihoreul aranaen ch'eonyeo") we read that the kumiho was ultimately revealed when a hunting dog caught the scent of the fox and attacked. All of these details would seem to indicate that, while the kumiho may be able to change its appearance, there is still something fox-like about it; its countenance changes, but its nature does not.
The kumiho is typically pictured as taking a female form when transforming into a human being (as indicated in the encyclopedia entries), but the kumiho in "The Maiden who Discovered a Kumiho through a Chinese Poem" turns into a young man who attempts to trick the maiden into marrying him. It should be noted that this is the only case where the kumiho transforms into a man; in the rest of the tales the kumiho takes the form of a beautiful girl.
Although it is not indicated in the encyclopedia entry quoted above, the kumiho is not a benign trickster who delights only in fooling people. There is no doubt that the kumiho is an evil creature; unlike the fox of Japanese folklore, who will sometimes change into a woman to marry a man who has been kind to it, the kumiho never appears as a benevolent figure. The kumiho encountered by Pak Munsu intended to harm him, but he was able to escape. Likewise, the amorous king was saved by the timely arrival of a mountain spirit who struck the kumiho on the cheek and forced her to reveal her true form. Others were not so lucky. In "The Hunter and the Kumiho" ("P'osuwa kumiho"), a hunter comes upon a fox scratching at a human skull in the woods. Before his eyes, the fox changed into an old woman and went down into a nearby village (the scratching of the skull and the subsequent metamorphosis introduces an element of sympathetic magic into the kumiho's transformation, but there is not space enough here to flesh out this aspect). The hunter followed and saw her "reunited" with her children, who had puzzled over her absence of several months. The hunter was able to warn the children that their mother had been killed by the kumiho, and the kumiho intended them to be her next victims. "The Emperor's Kumiho Daughter-in-Law" tells of us a Chinese emperor's son who married a kumiho. After the marriage, the country's retainers mysteriously began to die one by one. The tale's hero eventually discovered the kumiho and was given permission by the emperor to kill it and save the remaining retainers. The kumiho of "The Kumiho and the Samjokku (Three-legged Dog)" ("Kumihowa samjokku") is married to another Chinese emperor, and she shows vampiric tendencies in wanting to suck the blood from her intended victim, the hero of the tale (she is foiled by the hero's three-legged dog, who attacks and kills her).
Although this is by no means a complete survey of kumiho tales, it should suffice to supplement the brief definition we began with. Through these tales we can see just how intriguing a character the kumiho is, reflecting in its complex nature aspects found in various characters familiar to a Western audience: the trickster, the fiend, the succubus, and even the vampire. The kumiho continues to live on today as one of the few truly evil creatures of Korean folklore.

[Rhuen]

A black fox is good luck, a white fox calamity; three foxes together portend disaster. Buddhist legend tells of 'kitsune� who disguise themselves as nuns, and wear traditional robes (depicted in Netsuke figurines). Fables tell how the fox likes to appear as women. Stories tell that while the �kitsune� is in such a guise, he goes about tricking and misleading men into seduction. When the seduced come to the realisation of the true identity of their supposed love, the fox disappears. Legends tell of how �Kitsune� can hypnotize people and lead them into perilous situations. To do this, according to the tales, they illuminate the path leading to such disasters, and this illumination is known as a �foxflare� (kitsune bi).

The fox (kitsune) is frequently a subject in Netsuke figurines. Many strange and uncanny qualities are attributed to the fox. The�kitsune� have the ability to change their shape, but their faces remain fox-like. In folklore, foxes pretend to be humans in order to lead men astray.

"some more reliable information I have found"

this I believe is from a Japanese mythology and folklore site.

[Final Ultima]

Right now all I keep thinking about is the Kyuubi (literally meaning Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) from Naruto. Immortal Youmas rule.

Edited by Final Ultima, 11 March 2004 - 07:07 AM.

[Rhuen]

you should read the story of Tamomie Noh Mae, her story is the basis for how the Kitsune is viewed in fiction includeing anime, also she was supposedly a real being at some point or historical figure and her story inspired the Kumiho stories of Korea, its after her story that the korean version changed from its original form to the nine tailed form.

[Rhuen]

Kitsune in Japan are tied very close to Inari, the Shinto Fortune of Foxes and Rice. The association of Inari and the kitsune have made kitsune very pervasive, since the Inari shrine is one of the most famous, and most numerous of any shrine in Japan. The symbol of Inari is the red torii (religious gateway), with the image of two white foxes. The white fox was the messenger of Inari, and shrines to Inari were found in almost every town, village, private manor, garden, and geisha house.

The kitsune of Inari became important enough that even at Inari shrines, they were given their own, special shrines. These white foxes are called myobu. The word myobu is the name of a court-rank for ladies in Japan. The kitsune were given special favor in Japan, including a caste within the courts, for those who served Inari. This has a lot of significance, because it means that kitsune are capable of being part of the royal lines during the Feudal Japan, or even earlier.
Kitsune gained the title, according to a legend, when a woman named Shin-no-myobu proclaimed that her luck in finding a husband was granted by the messenger kitsune of Inari. Since then, they have been named myobu.
The temple of Inari became first associated with kitsune, when a kitsune couple sought shelter in the temple. They, and their five children, were given sanctuary and protection by Inari, in exchange for their servitude. Each swore ten oaths to Inari, and were given positions in the temple. Since then, descendants have served Inari faithfully.
The temple of Inari has two levels, the upper level, and the lower level. The Upper Temple was served by the male kitsune, and the Lower Temple was served by the female kitsune.
The male kitsune's name was Osusuki, and the female's name was Akomachi. In some art depicting kitsune, the male is black, while the female is white. Either the black fox or the white fox are good omens in oriental culture, with the black fox being called genko, and the white fox being called byako.
These oaths allow the kitsune to gain power through the shrine itself, and to be able to live there, and find shelter. The kitsune, in turn, protects those who work and live near the shrine, and aid those who come to them for help. This especially applies to other kitsune. When a kitsune who doesn't serve Inari, a nogitsune, starts harassasing the people near an Inari shrine, they can come to the kitsune of Inari for aid. The myobu then track down the offending nogitsune, and deal with it.

Edited by Rhuen, 11 March 2004 - 06:46 PM.

[Rhuen]

Techniquely not Asian but this hebrew fox myth has the same feel to it and may be one of the older inspirations for the original fox demons.

After Adam had committed the sin of disobedience (The Fall), God placed the lives of all animals in the hands of the Angel of Death. The Angel was told (by God) to drown one pair of each animal species ... thereby giving dominion over all life to the Angel of Death and because they were to be drowned in the ocean, to Leviathan. (See Day 5 of creation for further information about Leviathan.
Now the fox had always been known for his slyness. When the Angel of Death came to the ocean to drown the fox, the fox put on such a magnificent act that he might have earned the world�s first Oscar. He began weeping bitterly. The Angel asked him why he was crying ... and the fox told the Angel that he was mourning the death of his friend ... and pointed to his own reflection in the water. I guess you don�t have to be overly bright to become the Angel of Death ... the Angel was fooled into thinking he had already cast a member of the fox family into the water, so he let the fox go free.
The fox then told his friend, the cat, about the trick ... and it worked for the cat also.
Later, the Angel of Death sent word to Leviathan that he had finished drowning one pair of each species according to God�s decree. So Leviathan had all the drowned animals line up for inspection at the bottom of the ocean. It was then that Leviathan discovered that the fox had somehow eluded his punishment. He immediately sent a large group of fish to entice the defiant fox into the water. When the fox saw the school of fish approaching, he threatened to eat all of them.
The fish told the fox that his appetite would be satisfied if he just followed them. As an additional enticement, they tried to trick the fox by telling him that a great honor awaited him ... that Leviathan was dying, and they had been sent to inform the fox that he was to be the next successor.
The fox almost fell for the ruse [apparently the chance for power sometimes affects our ability to reason]. He waded into the water so that he could be carried on the backs of the fish (since he feared the water). But as he did so, an uneasy feeling (a sixth sense) came over the fox. He backed off, insisting that the fish tell him the truth of the situation.
Finally, the fish told him the truth of the matter. Leviathan had heard about the wisdom of the fox ... and wanted the fox�s heart so that he too might become as wise as the fox. [It was a common belief of the time that people thought with their heart instead of their brain ... which was why during Egyptian mummification the priests preserved the heart in a canopic jar and threw away the brain as a useless lump of moist tissue.]
The fox asked the fish, �Why didn�t you tell me that at first? Then I could have brought my heart along with me to give to King Leviathan. You see, foxes don�t carry their hearts around with them. Instead, they keep them in a safe place and fetch them only when they�re needed.�
The fish, fearing the wrath of Leviathan if they delivered the fox but not his heart, told the fox to go get his heart. No sooner did his feet touch the dry land of shore than the fox began to jump around happily. The fish urged him to go fetch his heart. But the fox laughed at them and said, �You fools! Could I have followed you into the water if I didn�t have my heart with me?�
The fish complained that he had tricked them.
The fox laughed again and said, �If I could play a trick on the Angel of Death, how much easier was it to make sport of you?� So the fish had to return empty-handed to Leviathan, who repeated the fox�s epithet that they were fools.

[Rhuen]

a list of some of the more famouse Kitsune in Japanese folklore

Kuzu-no-ha (Arrowroot-leaf) was a kitsune in a 5-part play of the same name. She fled her family when her son learned of her true nature. Her son, once he had tracker her down, was rewarded with the ability to speak with all creatures.

Tamamo-no-mae, also went by the name Hua-yang. She was a nine-tailed kitsune, and was responsible for the destruction of the king Pan-Tsu, in India, and has over a thousand innocent people killed by him. Later, Hua-yang fled to China, calling herself Pau-ssu. She joins the harem of Yu, king of the Chou dynasty. She eventually becomes his queen, and just to see her smile, Yu goes through unspeakable acts of cruelty. Under her guidance, the Chou dynasty falls.
Pau-ssu eventually fades/dies, only to be reborn in Japan, calling herself Tamamo-no-Mae. She joins the emperor's court, and the deaths continue. When she is discovered, she takes her true form, a golden kitsune with nine tails.
As an amazing coincidence, she is discovered by Abe-Yasuchika, a descendant of Abe-Seimei, who was the son of Kuzu-no-ha, the kitsune listed earlier. Kuzu-no-ha was more than likely myobu, and her child, of course, would be protecting of the emperor, as would his descendants.
She flees after she is discovered, and transforms into a large rock in the moor of Nasuno. In this form, she kills anything that approaches. Birds, people, and plants wither and die around her. It takes a priest with a magic hammer to kill her.
"in another version the stone was simply a curse she left behind after fleeing again and wasn't actually her"

GenCorp is a kitsune, who's parents were 1000 years old, and were hunted to form a magical drum called a tsuzumi. The drum was used to seduce the Fortune of rain into producing storms at the sound of it. It is through a play about Genkuro that it is learned that kitsune are feminine in nature. "kitsune never hide their emotions and always act on them, in ancient japanese culture this is viewed as feminine and from their they became more female like in the stories down the ages. the older ones did take on male human forms in the stories."

Koan (Buddhist priest) was a kitsune, who would wander around, telling others he was a Buddhist Priest. He would be invited into homes, were he would tell sermons, and be treated as a proper guest. When he wrote his name for others, he would write his name, age, signature, and seal, along with the character of LONGEVITY.

Jingoro (enshrined) was recorded as possessing someone when he thought the man was going to try to kill him. The man, to escape possession and not come to harm, had a shrine built to Jingoro, calling it Jingoro-Inari

Gengoro (express messenger) was a kitsune known for having the strength, speed, and vitality of three people, and was known to do farm work, and send messenges for the people he protected. He was later killed by a wild dog.

Genkuro (hair-cutter) was a kitsune who made a habit of tracking down women in Tokyo (then called Edo), and cutting off their hair and breaking pans

Hakuzo (learned) took the form of a Buddhist scholar, and would talk and answer religious dialogues in the temples. He was seen as very wise, and very scholarly. When he was discovered to be kitsune, he vanished, but would later be seen hanging around outside the temple, preaching the doctrine of Buddha in the dark. Later, the temple was renamed Hakuzo Inari.

Kojoro (little maid) was the mate of Gengoro, and appeared to be a young maid of around 12 to 14. She would do duties for the temple she lived in, and seemed to be quite popular among the children of the region. She vanished after four years.

"as you can see I am a big fan of these particular demons, very wise creatures indeed"

[Rhuen]

A Kitsune story called "The Farmer and the Fox"

A seventieth-century man of letters named P'u Sung Ling collected many such legends of the fox people from all parts of china. The world is in his debt, for stories of the sort, which he retold tend to be related by the hearth or around the campfire, orally. All to seldom are they written down.
Among P'u Sung Ling's strangest legends was one concerning a farmer who owned a stack of straw the size of a small barn. A fox its home in the straw. The fox used to show itself to the farmer in the form of an old man. In that guise it would draw the farmer in among the straw, where they had many a long gossip together.
One evening, as they were talking, the farmer asked the old fox were he vanished at night. "I go to drink in a tavern," the creature replied. "come along and see." With that, it laid a trembling paw upon the farmer's arm. A wind arouse, which whirled them both away to a strange town. They entered a tavern arm in arm. A feast was in progress. The pair ensconced themselves on a kind of balcony overlooking the banquet table. At that remove, they took part in the happy uproar. The fox man would occasionally nip down the stairs to fetch a pot of wine or a raw fish dish from the great table.
No one seemed to notice him at all. After an hour or so of this, the farmer happened to look down and saw a dignified person in crimson costume setting a platter of kumquats on the table below.
"Those look good," he said to his companion. "Won't you ask him for some?"
The fox shook his head. "I am not permitted to approach a person of such integrity."
At that moment the scales fell, as it were, from the farmer eyes. "In seeking the companionship of a fox," he thought, "I have lost my own integrity long since."
The farmer felt terribly dizzy. Toppling from his chair, he fell onto the banquet table below. The revelers were much astonished. They asked were he had come from. For answer, the farmer pointed up toward the balcony. But there was no balcony. It seemed he must have fallen from one of the large roof beams above.
His former friend nowhere to be seen. As best he could, the farmer explained what had happened. The people at the party were delighted by his story, which soon spread far and wide. They took up a collection to pay his traveling expenses home again. This was necessary because home proved to be a thousand miles away

[Rhuen]

an oral traditions kitsune story so its really short and lacks plot.

In one fox story a husband discovered his wife was a fox by seeing her brush (tail) hanging from beneath the quilt when she was in bed. She had no evil intent thought, and indeed helped her husband with his rice field by arranging forthehitherto unsown field to be magically planted with plants upside down. Because of this he was excused from rice tax, although the rice ripened all the same. She also devotedly nursed their invalid child, whose illness had prevented her husband from tending his land. For all its strangeness it was a good marriage. It may well be that the fox wife was one of the messagers used by INARI, the god of rice.

[Rhuen]

one of my favorites "the fox arsonist"

A retainer who served the governor of Kai was heading home one sundown from the governor's mansion when he saw a fox, gave chase and shot at it with the kind of noisemaker arrow used for scaring off dogs. He hit it in the back leg.
The fox yelped in pain, rolled over, and dove limping into the brush. As the retainer went to retrieve his arrow the fox reappeared in front of him, and he was about to shoot at it again when it vanished.
A quarter of a mile from home he saw the fox running ahead of him carrying a flaming brand in its mouth. What could it be up to? He spurred his horse on. On reaching the house, the fox changed into a human being and set the house on fire. The retainer was ready to shoot as soon as he got within range, but the human changed right back into a fox and got away. The house burned down.
Beings like that exact swift vengeance. It's better to leave them alone.

[Rhuen]

Kitsune story "the brothel"

In a time of our honorable forefathers, there dwelt in a mean mountain village of Settsu Province a poor faggot-cutter who followed the way of Lord Buddha, taking no animal life fore the solace of his belly and praying as a devout man should for the eternal welfare of his spirit.
One day in a ravine he came upon a vixen, caught by the paw in a trapper's snare, which with many a moan and with tears running down her muzzle Para Para seemed to beseech him for succor, so that in pity he would have released her. But being minded to rob no honest man, he trudged a long ri down the mountain to his hut, and taking from a hiding place in the thatch a piece of silver, the fruit of weeks of toil, he returned to the ravine and set the vixen free, and wrapped the silver piece in a bit of cotton cloth, he tied it to the snare and went his way. The vixen, when he released her, fled not, but as thought understanding his heart, fawned upon his feet and licked his hands and followed him limping tobo-tobo to the mouth of the ravine, where she gave three sharp barks and sprang into the thicket.
Now on the third evening thereafter, as the man squatted in the mouth of his hut resting from the sweaty labor of the day, on a sudden there appeared before him a damsel, clad in a brown-silk robe, who called to him, and he, seeing her rare beauty and thinking her some great lady strayed from her cavalcade, prostrated himself before her and begged her pleasure. Said she: "Abase not thyself. I am the fox which thy humanity set free the other night from the snare, and whose life thou didst purchase with thy silver piece. I have take this form in order to requite thy favor as I may, and I will serve thee with fealty so long as thou dost live." At which he cried: "Esteemed mistress of magic! Not for my unparalleled worthlessness is thy high condescension! I am eight times rewarded by this thy visit. I am but a beggarly forester and thou a repository of all beauty. I pray thee, make not sport of my low condition." The said she: "Thou art a poor man. Suffer me at least to set thee on the way to wealth." Asked he: "How may that be done?" She replied: "Tomorrow morning don thy best rob and thy stoutest sandals and come to the mouth of the ravine where thou didst rescue me. There thou shalt see me in my true form. Follow whither I lead and good fortune shall be thine. This I promise on the word of a fox." At that he prostrated himself before the damsel in gratitude, and when he lifted himself she had vanished.
Next morning, when he came to the ravine, he found awaiting him the vixen, who barked thrice and turning, trotted before him, leading him by paths he knew not across the mountain. So they proceeded, she disappearing in the thicket whenever a chance traveler came in view, and he satisfying his hunger with fruits and berries and slaking his thirst from the rivulets, and at night sleeping under the starts. Thus the reaches of the sun wound up the days till on fourth noontide they descended into a vale where lay a city. At sundown they came to a grove hard by the city's outer barrier where was a shrine to the fox deity, Inari. Before this the vixen barked thrice, and bounded through its door. And presently the woodsman beheld the damsel issuing there from, robed now in rich garments and beauteous as a lover's dream leaping from the golden heart of a plum blossom.
Said she: "Take me now - who am they daughter - to the richest brothel in yonder city, and sell me to it's master for a goodly price." He answered: "Barter thee, to the red-hell hands of a conscienceless virgin-buyer? Never!" Then, with a laugh like the silver potari of a fountain, she said: "Nay, but they soul shall be blameless. So soon as thou hast closed the bargain and departed, I shall take on my fox shape in the garden and get me gone, and thus the reward shall be thine and evil intent shall receive its just deserts."
So, as she bad him, he entered the city with her and inquiring the way to the quarter of houses of public women, came to it's most splendid rendezvous, which was patronized only by brazen spendthrifts and purse-proud princes, where all night the painted drums went don-a-don and the samisen were never silent, and whose satiny corridors lisped with the shu-shu of the velvet foot-palms of scarlet-lipped courtesans. So great was the damsel's beauty that a crowd trooped after them, and the master of the house, when he saw her, felt his back teeth itch with pleasure. The faggot-cutter told him his tale, as he had been prompted, averring that he was a man whose life had fallen on gloomy ways so that he who had been a man of substance was now constrained to sell his only daughter to bondage. At which the proprietor, his mouth watering at her loveliness and bethinking him of his wealthy clientele, thrust ink-brush into his fist and planked before him a bill-of-agreement providing for her three years' service for a sum of thirty gold ryo paid that hour into his hand.
The woodsman would joyfully have signed, but the damsel put forth her hand and stopped him saying: "Nay, my august father! I joyfully obey thy will in this as in all else, yet I pray thee bring not reproach upon our unsullied house by esteeming me of so little value." And, to the master of the place she said: "Methinks thou saidst sixty ryo." He answered: "Were I to give a rin more than forty, I were robbing my children." Said she: "The perfume I used in our brighter days cost me ten each month. Sixty!" Cried he: "A thousand curses upon my beggarly poverty, which constrained me. Have mercy and take fifty!" At this she rose, saying: "Honorable parent, there is a house in a nearby street frequented, I hear, by a certain prince who may deem me not unattractive. Let us go thither, for this place seemeth of lesser standing and reputation than we had heard." But the master ran and barred the door and, although groaning like an ox before the knacker, flung down the sixty gold ryo, and the woodsman set his name to the bill-of-agreement and fare welled her and went home rejoicing with the money.
Then the master, glad at the capture of such a peerless pearl of maidenhood, gave her into the care of his tire-woman to be robed in brocades and jewels, and set her on a balcony, where her beauty shone so dazzling that the halted palanquins made the street impassable, and the proprietor of the establishment across the way all but slit his throat in sheer envy. Moreover, the son of the daimyo of the province, hearing of the newcome marvel, sent to the place a gift of gold, requesting her presence at a feast he was to give there that same evening.
Now this feast was held in an upper room overhanging the river, and among the damsels who attended the noble guests, the fox-woman was as the moon to a horde of broken paper lanterns, so that the princely host could not unhook his eyes from her and each and every of his guests gave black looks to whoever touched her sleeve. As the sake cup took its round, she turned her softest smile now to this one and now to that, beckoning to each to folly till his blood bubbled butsu-butsu with passion and all were balanced on the thin knife-edge of a quarrel.
Suddenly, then, the lights in the apartment flickered out and there was confusion, in the midst of which the damsel cried out in a loud voice: "O my Prince! One of thy guests hath fumbled me! Make a light quickly and thou shalt know this false friend, for he is the one whose hat-tassel I have torn off." But cried the Prince (for he was true-hearted and of generous mind): "Nay, do each one of you, my comrades, tear off his hat-tassel and put it on his sleeve. For we have all drunk overmuch, and ignorance is sometimes better than knowledge." Then after a moment he clapped his hands, and lights were brought, lo, there was no hat left with a tassel upon it. At this, one of the young blades, laughing at the success of the artifice, began to sing the ancient song which saith:
The hat thou lovedst,
Reed-wove, tricked out with damask,
Ah me, hath blown away,
Into the Kamo River-
Blown amidst the current.
While I wandered seeking it,
While I wandered searching it,
Day-dawn cam, day-dawn came!
Ah, the sawa-sawa
Of that rustling night of autumn,
There by the water,
The spread-out, rustling water!
But the damsel, crying that with the affront unavenged she would not choose longer to live, ran into the next chamber and, stripping of her clothes, cast them from the window into the swift current, while she herself, taking on her fox form, leaped down and hid in a burrow under the riverbank. So the party of the Prince rushed in and, finding the window wide and her vanished and seeing the splendid robe borne away by the rushing water, deeming that she had indeed drowned herself, made outcry, and the master of the house plucked out his eyebrows, and his folk and the gallants put forth in many a boat, searching for her fair body all that night, but naught did they discover save only her loincloth.
Now on the fourth evening after that, as the faggot-cutter sat in his doorway, the damsel appeared before him, robed in a kimono of pine-and-bamboo pattern, with an obi of jeweled dragonflies tangled in a purple mist. Asked she: "Have I kept my fox-word?" He answered. "Aye, eight times over. This morning I purchased a plot of rich rice land, and tomorrow the builders, with what remaineth, begin to erect my mansion." Said she then: "Thou art no faggot-cutter henceforth, but a man of substance. Look upon me. Wouldst thou not have me to wife?" But he, seeing how her carriage was as graceful as the swaying of a willow branch, her flawless skin the texture of a magnolia petal, her eyebrows like sable rainbows, and her hair glossy as a sun-tinted crow's wing, and knowing himself for an untutored hind, knelt in abasement before her and said: "Nay, wise one! Doth the smutty raven mate with the snow-white heron?" Then she said, smiling: "Do my bidding once again. Tomorrow return to the city and to the brothel where thou didst leave me, and offer, as the bargain provided, to buy me back. Since the master of the house cannot produce me, he must need pay over to thee damage money, and see that thou accept not less than two hundred gold ryo." So saying, she became a fox and vanished in the bushes.
So next morning he took his purse and crammed it with copper pieces and betook himself across the mountain, and on the third day he arrived at the city. There he hastened to the brothel and demanded its master, to whom he said, jingling the purse beneath his nose: "Good fortune is mine. For, returning to my village three days since to pay my obligations with thy sixty ryo, I found that my elder brother had died suddenly in the next province, leaving to me (since he was without issue) all his wide estates. So I am come to redeem my beloved daughter and to return thee thy gold plus the legal interest." At that the master of the house felt his liver shrink and sought to put him off with all kinds of excuses, but the woodsman insisted the more, so that the other at length had no choice but to tell him that the girl had drowned herself. When he heard this the woodsman's lamentations filled all the place, and he beat his head upon the mats hata-to, crying out that naught but ill treatment had driven her to such a course, and swearing to denounce the proprietor to the magistrates for a bloody murderer, till from dread to see his establishment sunk in evil repute, the man ran to his strongbox and sought to offer the bereaved one golden solace. Thus, with two hundred more ryo in gold (for mindful of the maiden's reed, he would take no less) the woodsman returned to his village, with an armed guard of ten men for an escort, where he rented a stout go down for the money's safekeeping.
The night of his return, as he sat on his doorstep, thanking all the deities for his good luck, the fox-maiden again appeared before him, this time clad only in the soft moon-whiteness of her adorable body, so that he turned away his face from the sight of it. Asked she: "Have I kept my fox-word?" And he answered, stammering: "Eight hundred times! Today I am the richest man in these parts." Said she: "Look upon me. Wouldst thou not posses me as thy concubine?" Then, peeping despite himself betwixt his fingers, he beheld the clear and lovely luster of her satiny skin, her breasts like twin snow-hillocks, her bending waist, and the sweet hidden curves of her thighs, and all his senses clamored like bells, so that he covered his eyes with his sleeve. And said he: "O generous bestower! Forgive the unspeakable meanness of this degraded nonentity. My descendants to the tenth generation shall burn richest incense before the golden shrine which I shall presently erect to thee. But I am a man and thou art a fox, with whom I may not knowingly consort without deadly sin!"
Then suddenly he saw a radiance of the five colors shine rainbow-like around her, and she cried out in a voice of exceeding great joy, saying: "Blessing and benison upon thee, O incorruptible one! As a fox I have dwelt upon the earth for five hundred years, and never before have I found among humankind one whose merit had the power to set me free. Know that by the virtue of thy purity I may now quit this animal road for that of humankind." Then she vanished, and he built a shrine to her in the mouth of the mountain ravine, and it is told that his children's grandchildren worship before it to this day

[Rhuen]

I did not write the response at the end of this it comes from the person who own the site I found this on. "i do however agree with the person's view on the story"

How Tokutaro was Deluded by Foxes
Tokutaro was a complete skeptic in regard to the magical power of foxes. His skepticism exasperated a number of his companions, who challenged him to go to Maki moor. If nothing happened to him, Tokutaro was to receive, writes A. B. Mitford (Lord Redesdale) in Tales of Old Japan, "five measures of wine and a thousand copper cash� worth of fish." If, on the other hand, Tokutaro should suffer through the power of the foxes, he was to present a similar gift to his companions. Tokutaro jeeringly accepted the bet, and when night had come he set out for the Maki moor.
Tokutaro was determined to be very cute and very wary. On reaching his destination he happened to meet a fox running through a bamboo grove. Immediately afterwards he perceived the daughter of the headman of Upper Horikan�. On telling the woman that he was going to this village, she explained that as she was going there too they might journey together.
Tokutaro's suspicions were fully aroused. He walked behind the woman, vainly searching for a fox's tail. When they reached Upper Horikan� the girl's parents came out, and were much surprised to see their daughter, who had married, and was living in another village.
Tokutaro, with a smile of superior wisdom, explained that the maid before them was not really their daughter, but a fox in disguise. The old people were at first indignant, and refused to believe what Tokutaro had told them. Eventually, however, he persuaded them to leave the girl in his hands while they waited for the result in the store-closet.
Tokutaro then seized the girl, and brutally knocked her down, pouring abuse upon her. He stamped upon her, and tortured her in every possible way, expecting every moment to see the woman turn into a fox. But she only wept and cried piteously for her parents to come to her rescue.
This whole-hearted skeptic, finding his efforts so far fruitless, piled wood upon the floor and burnt her to death. At this juncture her parents came running in and bound Tokutaro to a pillar, fiercely accusing him of murder.
Now a priest happened to pass that way, and, hearing the noise, requested an explanation. When the girl's parents had told him all, and after he had listened to Tokutaro's pleadings, he begged the old couple to spare the man's life in order that he might become in time a good and devout priest. This extraordinary request, after some demur, was agreed to, and Tokutaro knelt down to have his head shaved, happy, no doubt, to be released from his predicament so easily.
No sooner had Tokutaro's wicked head been shaved than he heard a loud peal of laughter, and he awoke to find himself sitting on a large moor. He instinctively raised his hand to his head, to discover that foxes had shaved him and he had lost his bet!

This passage vividly illustrates the kitsune ability to completely mind-control humans. Upon Tokutaro's meeting with the girl, who was indeed a fox, took control of his mind, and from then on, he saw what the fox wanted him to see, which is why he did not find a fox's tail when walking behind her. While he believed the girl was leading him to the village, she was instead leading him, surely, in circles around the moor. Everything he saw was a fabrication, created by the fox. Even his torture and burning of the girl never really happened. it was merely part of the kitsune's fantasy.
Davis refers to this passage as demonstrating "the evil propensities of the fox". I suppose it depends who you're talking to as to whether it's called evil or not. In my opinion, the fox in this passage isn't evil at all. Instead, the fox demonstrates what is true of most kitsune: amorality, and a penchant for pranking and teaching humility. never underestimate a Kitsune.

[Rhuen]

I don't know the name of this one and I have left the notes made by the site master to explain somethings said in the story

Once upon a time there was a merchant named Cyobei. He traveled often and he usually stayed at an inn called Ise-ya at Konosu in Saitama. He began a secret love affair with Ise-ya's daughter, and he promised that someday they would be legally married.
One night the Inn caught fire, and burned to the ground. The girl's father decided to move back to their hometown in Nagano, far away from Konosu. But the daughter was in love with Cyobei, and wrote passionate letters to him in secret, asking travelers to deliver them to him. She received no reply from him at all.
Broken hearted, she became vengeful. She went to a nearby shrine of Inari, patron god of merchants (1), and prayed for his death.
Meanwhile, the faithless Cyobei had lost interest in her, after hearing she had moved to a far away place. He simply forgot about her and the promises he'd made her. But then one day, as he was coming home, he found her waiting for him by a river. Far from welcoming her, he was astonished and afraid. "How did you ever get pass the border check?"(2) he rudely demanded of her. The rejected girl grabbed him furiously by his jacket with both hands. "You promised you were going to marry me! You said so! Marry me right now or else!"
He was very embarrassed, and decided he should hide her at home until he could straighten things out, but his father was standing outside his house, talking to a neighbor. This was not the way to introduce her to his family, so later he secretly ask the neighbor "Just put her up at your place for the night, until I can decide what to do. If my father asks about her, just tell him something. Make up any kind of story you want."�@
But when they went to find her - she had vanished into thin air. He looked everywhere for her, frantic she would cause a scandal over him Suddenly he began running, madly yelling "Kon! Kon!"(3) and then fell to the ground, unconscious.
His family put him to bed and took care of him. When he regained consciousness, he spoke crazy things and it soon became clear to everyone that he had been possessed by a fox-spirit. He was ravenous and cried out for porridge. He ate bowl after bowl, and then settled down. The father asked the fox-spirit inside of Cyobei "Why are you possessing my boy like this?"
"I'm a fox in so-and-so village in Nagano", said the fox spirit inside Cyobei. "I am the messenger of Inari. While Ise-ya ran an inn at Kohnosu, this man here became intimate with his innocent daughter and promised her he would marry her. She wrote love letters to him and he ignored her, until she prayed pitifully for Inari to strike him dead."
"But", continued the fox-spirit "This couple here, they're so young, why should they have to die? I disguised myself as Ise-ya's daughter and came here myself to visit this man, and to see for myself what kind of person he is. That's why I'm possessing him. That's why I'm talking to you now like this. They really should be married, and I believe they'd make a wonderful match! Trust me. Cyobei should go to Nagano, or Ise-ya should send his daughter here."
Cyobei's father agreed then to the match and promised to send his son to Nagano to bring her home, if the fox-spirit would release him. But the clever fox-spirit demanded he put it in writing first, before he would release his hold on Cyobei. The father wrote his pledge in a letter, but the fox-spirit protested, "It's too large to carry back this way. Write on a small piece of paper and put it in my ear." The father did so, and then the fox-spirit demanded a souvenir gift to bring back to Nagano, to be wrapped in a straw package and hung from his neck. So the father put the gift in straw wrapping and hung it from Cyobei's neck, and wrote his pledge on a small paper and put it in Cyobei's ear. The fox-spirit said "Farewell, I'm on my way to Nagano." Cyobei jumped up from his sick bed, ran for the gate and there he fell down unconscious.
They revived him with a cup of tea and he was himself again. But the letter and package had disappeared.

Notes
(1) Inari is the god of merchants, and his messenger is the fox or "Kitsune". You will see sacred kitsune statues flanking both sides of the famous Torii Gate. The most important Inari shrine in Japan is the Hushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, where "a thousand" red Torii shaped tunnels lead to the main hall.
(2) In old Japan, provincial borders were blocked off by check points and border guards, and permission was required to cross between them.
(3) "Kon" is the sound of the cry made by a fox. It is an onomatopoeia; that is the verb is based on the imitation of the sound it represents. I.g. "buzz"; "hiss" etc

[Lestattheblackhearted]

*sits in state of shock*
rhuen you amaze me...*claps hands*...you could write a fucking library!
Good work...very good work...

[Rhuen]

this is an older Kitsune story


Long, long ago there was a tea shop next to the road in the mountains of the province of Mimasaka. This tea shop was a place where people passing by could rest, and get a drink of tea. A man named Kihei lived in the tea shop.
One evening an impressive looking samurai came in and asked to rest there. Kihei could see that this hakama and kimono and sword were those of a genuine samurai, but his face just didn't look right.
There was fur growing on his face, which had a pointed muzzle and triangular ears pointing straight up. This was a fox imitating a samurai.
This looked so funny that Kihei could hardly stand it. However, he controlled himself and didn't laugh. Instead he put some water in a metal basin and placed it before the fox-samurai. "Samurai-sama! Do you wish to wash your face?"
The fox stood proudly like a samurai and bent over the water to wash his face. When he did, his face was reflected in the water.
Only then did he realize that although he had the body of a samurai, his face was still that of a fox. The fox barked in horror, and dashed out of the tea shop.
The next day Kihei went into the mountains to gather wood. On the way back he heard someone in a grove of trees calling "Kihei, Kihei."
"What is it?"
"That was pretty funny last night, wasn't it?" the voice said. Then Kihei realized it was the fox from the night before.
They say that long ago foxes would imitate men that way. Apparently they could laugh with men that way too. I don't know if that's true or not, but it does make an interesting story.

[Rhuen]

said to be a favorite dish of many Kitsune

Kitsune Udon

In Japan there is a charming story about the mythical fox and its tremendous liking for deep-fried tofu. The following dish is named kitsune, or "fox" udon, in honor of the fox. Although variations of this dish can be found from city to city throughout Japan, they all have one thing in common--deep fried tofu, the favorite of the fox.
2 packages udon (16 oz), any type 4-5 cups water 1 strip kombu, 2-3 inches long light or dark sesame oil, for deep frying 8-10 slices firm-style tofu, 2 inches wide by 3 inches long by 1/4 inch thick 1-1 1/2 Tbsp mirin 2-3 Tbsp tamari soy sauce 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced for garnish

Cook, rinse, and drain the noodles. Place the water and kombu in a pot. Take a clean, damp sponge or cloth and gently wipe both sides of the kombu to remove light dust. Place the water in a pot and add the kombu. Cover the pot and place on a high flame. Bring to a boil. Reduce the flame to medium-low and simmer the kombu for about 4-5 minutes. Remove the cover and take out the kombu. Set it aside for future use.

Place 2-3 inches of sesame oil in a deep-frying pot. Heat the oil. When hot, place the sliced tofu in the oil and deep-fry until golden brown on all sides. Remove and place on paper towels to drain. Pat the slices with paper towels to remove excess oil. Leave the pieces whole or slice in half on an angle. Place the sliced tofu in the hot stock and simmer 2-3 minutes.

When the stock is done, add the mirin and tamari soy sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Reduce the flame to low.

Place the noodles in the hot broth and heat, without boiling, for 2-3 minutes. Place the noodles in serving bowls and ladle hot broth over them. Place 2 slices of fried tofu on top. Garnish each bowl with 2-3 tablespoonfuls of sliced scallion. Serve hot.

[Rhuen]

chinese fox
Looking like a typical fox, the Chinese fox has a life span that is between 800 and 1000 years. Each part of this fox's anatomy has special powers. Its tail when struck on the ground can start fires, it can see into the future and it can change its shape. Often appearing as an old man, young girl or a scholar. The Chinese fox is a trickster and so its appearance can be a bad omen. These foxes often are found around graveyards and it is said that the souls of the dead can transmigrate with the body of this fox.
"the Huli Jing" or something like that is what its called which translates as Fairy fox"

[Rhuen]

THE FOX SPIRIT

By the 11th century, for reasons hard to discern, Inari becomes intricately associated with the fox. In Japan, the fox is a legendary creature with supernatural powers for doing both good and evil. Able to transform into human shape (typically that of a bewitching woman), and to hear and see all secrets of humankind, the fox is Inari's messenger. Even today, fox statues are found in great number inside and outside the thousands of Japanese shrines dedicated to Inari (some 20,000 Inari shrines nationwide). Although the lore of fox magic was introduced to Japan from China and Korea, it originated in India. Nonetheless, the supernatural powers of the fox are not exclusive to Asia, for fox mythology exists -- quite independently -- in many non-Asian nations as well.


FOX LORE (Henge or Shape Shifters)

Animals with the power of transformation -- for either benevolent or malevolent purposes -- are called henge. In Japanese folklore, the kitsune (fox) and tanuki (racoon dog) are masters of transformation, as is the Tengu, the bird-man goblin of the forest and mountain. Some say the fox and tanuki are only manifestations of the powerful Tengu, who is reverred as the slayer of vanity and pride
Kitsune, or fox, grow in power as they age. After a century, they grow a tail and gain the ability to shape-shift and possess people. The most powerful foxes are those who reach the grand old age of 1,000 (the so-called nine-tailed fox). When a kitsune gains nine tails, its fur becomes silver, white, or gold, and it gains the power of infinite vision. 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 Kitsune are renowned tricksters. In many Japanese folk tales, the kitsune appears in the form of a bewitching woman who seduces and tricks unworthy men or rewards and protects deserving people. In human disguise, the she-fox can breed with a man. Fox folk can also cast illusions, appear in dreams, and read thoughts.

[Rhuen]

GHOSTLY ZOOLOGY
The subject of the Japanese fox is so voluminous that Lafcadio Hearn has described it as "ghostly zoology." Below are just some of the myriad myths about this creature, followed by a list of resources for those who would like to dig deeper.
� Kitsune Tsuki (Fox Lunacy) means demonic possession by a fox spirit, and according to legend it occurs mostly in women. Indeed researchers at the Imperial University of Japan in the early part of the 20th century seriously suggested that the fox spirit typically enters women of the lower classes (those most prone to superstition) through the breast or between the fingernails (from p.94 of F. Hadland Davis "Myths and Legends of Japan").

� Shape-Shifting Powers. While the kitsune's preferred shape is that of a beguiling female, the fox is not limited to human forms. It can transform itself into any natural thing (e.g., it can turn into a tree, a rock, water, another animal). In the story "The Meanness of Raiko," Inari himself assumes the shape of an enormous bloodsucking spider to frighten a mean but rich old man into changing his miserly ways. This story is a bit confusing, for Inari should not be transforming -- that is the work of Inari's messenger, the fox. Alas, the lines between the deity Inari and his messenger, the fox, have become very blurred. The Japanese have even build shrines dedicated to the kitsune rather than Inari.

The shape-shifting power of the fox is not perfect. While transformed, the fox is vulnerable to the same pressures and natural preditors faced by the form it assumes.

Nor can the fox fully hide its disguise. In many tales, the true identity of a she-fox is discovered by viewing her reflection in a mirror or in water -- the reflection reveals a tail ! Dogs are a better defense against the fox spirit, for a fox-woman loses her human form when spotted by a canine.

� Hoshi-no-tama (star ball). Kitsune closely guard a round ball. Those who obtain it can force the kitsune to help them; one theory says that the kitsune "reserves" some of its magic in this ball when it shape shifts. Kitsune must keep their promises or suffer a deterioration in their rank and power.