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Japanese Fox Myths and Anceint Stroies |
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Japan-
Enough is Enough!
The foxes which infested the house and grounds of Major Counselor Yasumichi's old mansion were always making mischief, but since they never really did any harm Yasumichi let the matter pass. They got naughtier and naughtier as the years went by, though, until one day he angrily decided that enough was enough. Those foxes would have to go.
He announced a grand fox hunt to his household, for the next day. The servants were to bring bows and arrows, sticks, or whatever weapons they could devise, and flush out every last one. They would surround the house, and men would be posted not only on the garden wall but on the roof as well, and even in the space between the ceiling of the rooms and the roof. Every fox that showed itself would be killed.
Near dawn on the fateful day Yasumichi had a dream. A white-haired old man, looking rather like an aged menial, was kneeling under the tangerine tree in the garden, bowing respectfully to him.
"Who are you?" asked Yasumichi.
"Someone who has lived here in the mansion for many years, sir," the old man answered nervously. "My father lived here before me, sire, and by now I have many children and grandchildren. They get into a lot of mischief, I'm afraid, and I'm always after them to stop, but they never listen. And now, sir, you're understandably fed up with us. I gather that you're going to kill us all. But I just want you to know, sir, how sorry I am that this is our last night of life. Won't you pardon us, one more time? If we ever make trouble again, then of course you must act as you think best. But the young ones, sir -- I'm sure they'll understand when I explain to them why you're so upset. We'll do everything we can to protect you from now on, if only you'll forgive us, and we'll be sure to let you know when anything good is going to happen!"
The old man bowed again and Yasumichi awoke. When the sky had lightened, he got up and looked outside. Under the tangerine tree sat a hairless old fox which, and the sight of him, slunk under the house.
The perplexed Yasumichi gave up his fox hunt. There was no more troublesome mischief, and every happy event around the house was announced by a fox's sharp bark.
Fox Arson
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.
The Fox In The Brothel
In a time of our honorable forefathers, there dwelt in a mean mountain village of Settsu Province a poor f*****t-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 therefrom, 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 f*****t-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 constraineth 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 farewelled 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 f*****t-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 f*****t-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 breaved one golden solace. Thus, with two hundred more ryo in gold (for mindful of the maiden's rede, 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 godown 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.
Japanese Buddhist Statuary
Inari, the god of rice, is a major Shinto deity. Closely associated with the Shinto goddess of food, Inari can be depicted in either male or female form. Inari not only protects the rice harvest -- s/he is also the patron of prosperity for farmers and merchants, especially those involved in rice production, foodstuffs and fisheries.
Inari's messenger is the magical shape-shifting fox (kitsune), and a pair of foxes typically flank Inari's image in artwork of the deity. In modern times, images of Oinari have all but disappeared, replaced instead by images of Oinari's messenger, the kitsune (fox).
Inari lore is quite complex and confusing. In early records, Inari is identified with Uga no Mitama no Kami, the Shinto goddess of agriculture, and also with a male counterpart named Uka no Mitama no Mikoto (the deity of grains, who was perhaps fathered by Susano-o).
Inari is also associated with the food goddess Ukemochi no Kami (aka Ogetsu hime no kami). Ukemochi and Ogetsu appear in the literature of the early 8th century. Despite their different names, the two share common attributes and are probably manifestations of the same deity. One tradition says that Inari was married to Ukemochi / Ogetsu. When she was killed by the moon god Tsuki-yomi, Inari stepped in to replace her as protector of the rice crop.
The situation gets more confusing, for depictions of Inari vary greatly. Pre-modern artwork depicts Inari as a bearded man standing on a sack of rice with two fox flanking his sides, or as a long-haired woman carrying sheaves of rice or riding a white fox (myobu). In modern times, Inari's female side has been bundled together with that of the goddess of fine arts, Benzaiten, the only female among the popular Seven Lucky Gods. The composite deity is called Uga Benzaiten.
Other Legends about Inari's Origin
Says "Japan as It Is: A Bilingual Guide," published by Gakken, 1990:
Formerly a god of cereals worshipped in Fushimi on the outskirts of Kyoto, Inari was later merged with the Buddhist guardian deity Dakini who was generally depicted riding a fox. This and the traditional reverence of the common people for the fox are probably behind Inari's close association with the animal. Miniature Inari Shrines marking sacred sites are common. They are distinguished by their smallness, bright red gates (torii), and fox figure or figures. Deep-fried bean curd, abura-age, is thought to be a favorite food of the fox. <end excerpt>
Dakini is a powerful Buddhist goddess from the Vajrayana (Tantric) tradition, who is sometimes associated with the Hindu goddess Kali. Called the Goddess of Life's Turning Points, Dakini is today worshipped mainly in Tibet, and she can come in multiple manifestations. Dak (Sanskrit) means to beckon with sound, to call, to knock. Ini (Sanskrit) is attached to word stems to indicate female gender. Another similar theory is that Inari was syncretized with "Dakini-ten." In Japan, Dakini-ten are the various manifestations of Dakini, and were generally associated with Daikoku-ten (Mahakala), who is considered the Hindu god of the Five Cereals (later becomes god of Buddhism, and today is one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods). This dakini had as its "messenger" a white fox, and worshippers offer fried soybean curd at Inari shrines, for this is apparently the favorite food of the fox.
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" wink , but the Korean fox is always depicted as evil, unlike the Japanese fox, which can be either benevolent or malevolent. Click here for more on the Korean fox.
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.
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" wink .
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.
Inari as patron of sword smiths. Munechika, a famous sword maker, was ordered to make a sword for the Emperor, so he visited an Inari Shrine to pray for help. As he prayed, Inari appeared and helped him construct a sword of superb beauty. (Story from a Japanese Noh play)
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.
Why the Fox Connection?
In ancient Shinto, the "mountain kami" was believed to descend from its winter residence in the mountain to become the "paddy field kami" (ta no kami) in the spring, residing there during the subsequent agricultural season. Following the fall harvest, the deity would return once again to its winter home in the mountains in its role as the "mountain kami." All this probably took place at the same time that foxes appeared each season. As such, the fox naturally became known as the messenger of Inari.
Once very common throughout Japan, foxes were nevertheless seldom seen since they moved at night; dead birds, broken fences and chicken's blood were the only evidence of their nocturnal passages. It may have been the difficulty of seeing a fox, or of keeping it in view for any period of time, which led to the notion that they undergo actual physical shift. A fox might skulk into the farmyards looking like a fox, but exit in an entirely different form -- as an old woman, a boy, a demon, or a princess. In Japanese lore, they live a sort of mirror image of human society, with fox lords and ladies, servants and laborers -- standing on hind legs, dressed in human clothes, and carrying out their mystic rituals by lantern light in the middle of the forest. To the end of mitigating the powers that these worrisome animals possessed, shrines were erected, and the fox-god, Inari, became the most popular roadside divinity, honored with a clap of the hands on passing by, or with a gift of flowers, sake, or fried tofu (aburage, believed to be a favorite food of foxes). Even today, it is common to see a little street-corner shelter with a ceramic fox image housed behind a grill, offerings carefully placed in front to ward off all dangerous eventualities. Foxes have to be placated, for they are potentially disastrous to the livelihood of the farmer. They are also constant and salutary reminders of the fox-like characteristics that lie at the root of human behavior as well.
The fox is sometimes associated with the concept of Kimon (a term stemming from Chinese geomancy, or Feng Shui), for the fox has the power to ward off evil kimon. Kimon means ominous direction, or taboo direction, and can be loosely translated as "gate of the devils to the northeast," or "place where demons gather and enter." The key concept is that the northeast direction is an unlucky direction, and very few houses are built with the entrance facing the northeast. The unlucky northeast direction is also sometimes referred to as "omote kimon," or outer demon corner. Feng Shui is called Fusui in Japanese.
Inari Shrines. One of the oldest Inari shrines is Fushimi Inari Taisha in southeast Kyoto (est. 8th century). Some sources say there are more than 20,000 shrines nationwide devoted to Inari. Inari is celebrated in a Shinto festival during the first days of spring when cultivation starts.
WWII (told by Kagari Ando). During the hardship years surrounding World War Two, people in the city of Kyoto held seance sessions to invoke the aid of Inari. A Ouiji-like board was made by placing Japanese alphabet cards on the floor. In the center of the cards was an odd contraption -- three chopsticks standing upright, leaning against each other, like a teepee, and inside the three-pronged conjunction at the top was placed an ochoko (drinking cup). Gathered round, those present begin chanting Inari's name. A question is asked (e.g., is my son still alive), more chanting to Inari, and then magic -- the chopstick structure begins to move, spelling out the answer my moving atop the alphabet cards.
Kitsune no Yomeiri
When it rains while sun shines, people says "Kitsune no Yomeiri," which means Kitsune's Wedding. It is said that if you look carefully, you can see the wedding procession of Kitsune's bride in the distance.
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 In the Shinto realm, the fox deity known as KITSUNE is often decked in red bibs. The fox is the messenger of Oinari, the deity of food, farmers, and the rice harvest. Oinari (also written Inari) appears in both male and female form, and is generally associated with various manifestations of the Hindu goddess Dakini, who in turn is associated with Daikoku-ten (Mahakala), the latter considered the Hindu god of Five Cereals. Here the symbolism is two-fold. First, rice is sacred in Japan, closely associated with fertility (the pregnant earth) and with sustaining life. Foxes must therefore be placated -- otherwise it would be disastrous to the livelihood of the nation's farmers and people. Second, the fox is associated with the concept of Kimon 鬼門 (a Japanese term stemming from Chinese geomancy; literally "demon gate" wink . Kimon generally means ominous direction, or taboo direction, and can be most accurately translated as "demon gate to the northeast," or the "northeast place where demons gather and enter." The fox, like the monkey, is able to ward off evil kimon, and therefore the fox, in Japan, plays the same role as the monkey in guarding the demon gate to the northeast. For the monkey, this is easy to understand. The Japanese word for monkey (猿 saru) is a homonym for the Japanese word 去る, which means to "dispel, punch out, push away, beat away," and thus monkeys are thought to dispel evil spirits. But there is no similar reason (that I know of) for the fox's ability to ward off evil. There are approximately 20,000 Inari (fox) shrines nationwide. Characteristics of Inari shrines are red torii (gates) protected by a pair of fox statues, one on the left and one on the right. Chinese concepts of geomancy (i.e., feng shui) are discussed here.
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 lady_inuyasha_sama · Sun Dec 31, 2006 @ 03:46am · 2 Comments |
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