Kitsune - キツネ - [Yokai]

•About this yokai•

...To properly summarize the Fox's role in Japanese Culture, Religion, Shinto, Mythology, Art and Folklore is a daunting task, one could fill several books about Kitsune lore alone! Its an expansive topic which one cannot possibly cover adequately all at once, still i will do my best to present an "in a nutshell" topic to the best of my knowledge/ability. Kitsune are commonly said to have a ranked hierarchy....

...For now lets focus on...

Nogitsune - (JP: のぎつね, キツネ, 野狐)

Young Magical foxes (kitsune, キツネ) are also known as Yako (野狐)or more commonly, Nogitsune (のぎつね) They are considered to be the lowest rank of magical fox and act no differently from your average red wild field fox. That is until they grow a bit older...

These are the kitsune of fairy tales, classically portrayed as Mischievous, Sly, Evil, Tricksters, Often pulling pranks on humans or stealing things.

Around the age of 50-100, kitsune begin practising magical rituals and worshipping the big dipper. Usually dancing with a Lotus leaf or a skull placed over their heads will do the trick to shapeshift & take on human form, as a nogitsune they they grow more tails (another every 100 years or so.) with each new tail, their power grows and they become more magical & wise...

•Some Kitsune Tricks•

• HOW TO SPOT A TRANSFORMED KITSUNE: Young Kitsune are quite poor at hiding their ears and tails. their shadows and reflections will still appear as that of a fox. Girls who appeared unaccompanied at night were often said to be Kitsune in Disguise. - Despite the young kitsune's clumsiness, Powerful Kitsune are said to be so good at their illusions that you wouldn't be able to tell if the person sitting next to you was a kitsune at this very moment: Some Wild Kitsune are known to disguise themselves, marry and even have children with humans, they're known to be loving partners, mothers and parents. sadly this always ends in tragedy once they've been found out. - One famous kitsune child was the famous Onmyouji known as Abe no Seimei.

Kitsune Bi: (狐火) or 'Fox Fire' is a type of atmospheric orb of colourful light that kitsune make when doing magic. They typically show up at night during summertime, sometimes its used to lure curious humans off their paths.

Kitsune No Yomeiri: (JP: 狐の嫁入り, sunshowers) -a phrase referring to a sunshower, Kitsune are able to create grand illusions: whenever there's a sunshower, it's said that somewhere nearby, kitsune are getting married. the sunshower is a trick to let humans know to stay home.

See also: Tenko, Kitsune Masks, Yokai Zine #2.

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo thats me!) - Part of my Night parade of 100 Demons - Yokai & Japanese folklore sticker collection, weather-resistant 4" Glossy sticker. Check my shop & follow @samkalensky for many more!

This design was heavily inspired by “Odoru-kitsune” [踊る狐] (The Dancing Fox) by Koson Ohara [小原 古邨] (1877-1945) The last slide is their famous 'dancing fox' artwork