Kitsune

In Japanese folklore a kitsune is a fox that gains supernatural power as it ages, growing additional tails — up to nine — and the ability to take human form, most often that of a beautiful woman. The oldest and wisest, the kyūbi no kitsune, are said to turn silver or gold and to see and hear almost anything.

Tradition splits them roughly in two: zenko, the benevolent foxes associated with Inari, deity of rice and prosperity, who serve as divine messengers and guard shrines; and yako or nogitsune, wild foxes who deceive, seduce and play tricks on the proud. Foxfire (kitsune-bi) and illusory weddings held «in fox weather» — sun and rain at once — belong to their lore.

Kitsune belief blends imported Chinese fox mythology with native Shinto reverence for Inari, and it stays visible today at the thousands of Inari shrines where paired stone foxes stand guard. As with much folk belief, the tellings vary widely by region and era — the fox is protector, lover and menace depending on who is telling it.