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 serve 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, and lovers.įoxes and humans 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 human form. In Japanese folklore, Kitsune ( 狐, キツネ, IPA: ( listen), literally the Japanese word for fox) are intelligent foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser.
A nine-tailed fox spirit ( kyūbi no kitsune) scaring Prince Hanzoku print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Edo period, 19th century.
