The Fox, Badger and Raccoon Dog take Human Form in Japanese Folklore

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“In the olden times, Japanese people believed that the tanuki (raccoon dog), kitsune (fox) & mujina (badger) can take the form of a human being, though it’s a superstition. These creatures can be found in folklore. On the site “Old Stories of Japan” you can learn about the folklore surrounding them.” -Sadao Mazuka

You’ll find those characters in the following stories:

#8    田野久             Tanokyu

#10  かちかち山        Click-Clack Mountain

#11  しっぽの釣り      Why the Bear has a Stumpy Tail

#18  むじな           Mujina  (originally written by Patrick Lafcadio Hearn)

#26  狸の札             A Badger’s Bill

#56   たぬきとたにし   A Badger and a Snail

#102  きつねのまつ毛    An Eyelash of Fox

#109  お化け茶釜         Raccoon’s Teakettle

#127  キツネたぬきウサギ  Fox & Raccoon & Hare

#129  だまされたキツネ  The Fox and a Man

#134  キツネとクマ     Fox and Bear

#137  証城寺の狸ばやしTanuki Raccoons at Moonlit Night

#164  トラとキツネ    Tiger and Fox

#166     狐の仕返し     Fox’s Revenge

#275  ごん狐(前半)  Lonely Fox (1st Part)

#276  ごん狐(後半)    Lonely Fox (2nd Part)

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Many thanks to Sadao Mazuka for sharing this with us!

-Mama Lisa

This article was posted on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2018 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, Folk Lore, Japan, Japanese, Languages, Mama Lisa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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