Tanuki Police - たぬき警察 - [Yokai/Slang]

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Tanuki Cops. - たぬき警察 (Tanuki Keisatsu)

• About this Yokai:

– aka the 'raccoon dog police' / 'tanuki police' – occasionally aka "TANUKI EXTREMISTS" - modern slang given to obsessive tanuki fanatics who are sticklers for rules, animal facts &/or cultural lore related to tanuki & raccoon dogs, and often taking it too far. Often its a derogatory term (rather than a self-label) given to those who 'police' or otherwise make a big deal out of minor mistakes related to the topic as a 'pet peeve' becoming 'serious' or 'angry' when someone has gotten a tanuki related cultural, or animal fact, incorrect. – For example, they become annoyed & will attack those that have has mistitled tanuki as "raccoons" or if someone has misspelled the name like "tanooki." - Another good example is when someone gets angry with artists who illustrate a tanuki's fur, masks &/or tail 'incorrectly' (most infamously giving the tail stripes like that of raccoons.) - Similar to real police; they often come across as bullies, and like real tanuki, they are in the habit of acting a bit unhinged... almost as if they were perhaps, possessed...??

--to make any of these mistakes are THE MOST SERIOUS TANUKI CRIMES!!!

in a nutshell: It's just a modern-day figure of speech for a tanuki fanatic who takes the topic a bit too seriously. However, In their defence... (allow me to elaborate in a similar unhinged manner...)

• A Few Tanuki Facts •

Tanuki ARE NOT raccoons!! They aren't even related!!!

Tanuki are of the canid family & as such are much more closely related to foxes & wolves (Like dogs, they have similar paw prints and even sniff each other's butts!!!) – The main similarity & reason for this mistake is their "face masks" - and since they're often translated as "raccoon dogs" it leads to a lot of cross-cultural confusion. – Unlike Tanuki: Raccoons are native to North America & Canada and are an invasive species in japan! - 'Raccoon dogs' are native to Japan and some parts of China, Tanuki are also an invasive species in Russia & some parts of Europe! – Tanuki tails are decidedly not striped, the stripe is largely a product of anime & cartoons, (it is usually a stylistic choice.) The origin of the confusion: is largely thanks to pop culture!!!

[a zoo's chart visualizing the difference.]

Some classic examples of famous pop-culture Tanuki mislabeling. •
Mario has worn a 'Tanooki suit' since (SMB3, 1988.) which was often translated as the 'raccoon suit' in guide books & official media.
Studio Ghibli's Movie: Pompoko (1994.) also chose to translate "tanuki" as "raccoon" perhaps in an attempt to be more relatable to American audiences: unfortunately this just caused even more confusion abroad!
in Animal Crossing (2001) Tom Nook is often labelled as a raccoon. (despite having a tanuki pun-name.)

These series are so popular, that today, the grand majority of the population & those who only care to learn about tanuki/raccoon dogs at a base level of understanding – continue to make this error! Much to the disamusement of tanuki fans!! – as such there are several dedicated Twitter accounts & blogs (in both English and Japanese) which are dedicated to listing popculture mistakes or clearing up this discrepancy specifically!

As a tanuki, I feel it is important to keep in mind that (folklore wise) tanuki are also very powerful shapeshifters & tricksters: so each time you see a Tanuki illustrated with a striped tail; it's far more likely that the Tanuki in question is fully aware of what it is doing. --Perhaps it's even making fun of you, or has transformed, purposefully trying to trick others into thinking that it's a raccoon!! -(I cannot think of a more perfect crime than hiding in plain sight!!!)- we aren't as dopey as you might think!!

--Uh I mean... What!?!--

--I digress...it's fairly silly to take this topic overly seriously and it is not at all a crime to make these cultural mistakes--nor is it particularly in bad taste to correct people when discussing the topic. -However, there are some people out there who certainly take it too far and can be pretty rude about it!!

Similar to this: there are also the "Kimono Police" old ladies (aged 40-60) who go around correcting people's kimonos obsessively!!

..this yokai is not to be mistaken with Keitakun the literal tanuki-cop mascot for Shiga prefectures police force!

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo, that's 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!

• See also: my other posts about tanuki!

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