The word "ki-tsune" in Japanese means "a child who comes at night." This is how a certain Ono, who lived during the reign of Kimmei (539-571), named his son. He named his only child in honor of his great love for his wife, who, as it turned out, was a werewolf-fox. During the day, she hid from the dogs that lived in the village, and at night she came to her husband. Their son, Kitsune no Ate, laid the foundation for the Kitsune family. The document that tells about this is dated 822. And if you happen to meet a person with the surname Kitsune, know that in front of you is the descendant of a werewolf-fox who fell in love with a person
Messengers of the world of spirits and demons
Japan is a mysterious country. Here, high technologies are closely intertwined with the world of the mysterious and unknown, here houses built for spirits are adjacent to highways, bus stops are guarded by ancient stone idols, here at any moment, inadvertently stepping aside, you can get from the noisy metropolis to the kingdom of spirits. As a rule, the gates to the abode of spirits and demons are locked and under strict guard, but there are no such locks that could not be opened. And often the world of big cities and the latest technologies is visited by guests who live “on the other side”. Having met a werewolf on the street, it is quite possible to make a mistake and take him for a human. Every Japanese knows: when talking to a stranger, one should be extremely careful - perhaps the casual interlocutor is a werewolf …
Oriental (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian) werewolves are not like European ones. These are not people who, with the help of witchcraft spells, take the form of an animal. These are guests from other worlds, spirits in the form of animals, turning into a person, a tree, and even into some objects. Kitsune is perhaps the most famous of these werewolves.
They have lived next to a person for thousands of years, sometimes bringing misfortune with them, and sometimes happiness.
Kitsune is the same charming fox-temptress, about which many legends have been written. It is believed that many historical figures descended from the kitsune, or were themselves. Such was the mystic and occultist Abe no Seimei, the spirit hunter of the Heian era - the son of kitsune Kuzuhi. The nine-tailed fox was the famous Tamamao no Mae (or Mei), a remarkably beautiful concubine of Emperor Konoe. During her lifetime, Mei brought a lot of troubles to the East, and no one guessed that she was a kitsune, until the emperor ordered dogs to be set on her for some offense. Only then did the cunning fox betray itself.
Fox Demon Life
Kitsune werewolves are either the foxes themselves after death, or the souls of people who were not pure before heaven. At the beginning of their afterlife, kitsune are content with a single tail and cannot take the form of a human. When they reach 50 or 100 years old, they reach maturity. Now they can already turn into a person, but not everyone knows how to hide their tail, and therefore their deception is easy to reveal. Over time, when the kitsune has five or even seven tails, they are already learning magic, they can create a darkness, send madness, and become invisible. Sometimes, on the contrary, they bring good luck. And only those werewolves, whose age is equal to thousands of years, receive nine tails, and their "fur coat" turns white. The Japanese call these werewolves kyuubi, or sky foxes. Kyuubi can control natural phenomena, time and lead people to other worlds,whence they soon return as old men. But, as a rule, such foxes rarely harm people.
Kitsune and people
The attitude of the Japanese towards charming and intelligent creatures from another world is twofold. It's a mixture of adoration and fear. Kitsune has a complex personality that can make a demon out of both man's best friend and mortal enemy. Depending on who exactly the fox
is going to communicate with, she can take on any appearance - a beautiful girl, a pretty young man, a wise old man or an innocent child. They are able to maintain an intelligent conversation, they know a lot about almost any profession, in addition, kitsune are the best traders. They are very sexy, which is why the Japanese believe that many geisha are werewolves. Kitsune do not shun vampirism - both energetic and ordinary. Foxes love to send delusion or madness to people they do not like, they can move into their bodies and even drive them to suicide.
Japanese psychiatrists still call one of the forms of mental disorder "kitsune-tsuki" - a disease sent by foxes.
It is believed that red foxes can set fire to dwellings by bringing fire in their paws. It is considered a very bad omen to see such a werewolf in a dream.
And at the same time, there is no bride and wife cuter than kitsune. Having fallen in love, they are ready for any sacrifice for their chosen one. In addition, black foxes bring good luck in trade, and white and silver foxes generally swore an oath to the deity of cereals Inari to help all mankind. It will be very lucky for those people who, by chance, suddenly settle on the sacred land for kitsune. Such happy families are called "kitsune-mochi": foxes are obliged to watch them everywhere, to protect them from any troubles, and serious illnesses await anyone who offends kitsune-mochi.
By the way, foxes have also suffered a lot from people. For a long time, the Japanese believed that a person who tasted kitsune meat becomes strong and wise. If someone became seriously ill, relatives wrote a letter to the deity Inari, but if the patient did not recover after that, the foxes were mercilessly exterminated throughout the district.
Who is afraid of dogs?
The Japanese believe that today kitsune can be found everywhere. They have skillfully adapted to modern life, their knowledge of human nature, numerous talents, natural charm and ability to deceive allow them to feel at ease even in the metropolis. They can be found in the field of finance, art. They say that kitsune are genius poets and scientists. But how to determine that in front of you is a werewolf fox, and not a man? They say it's not difficult. You just need to be careful. Kitsune are always beautiful and smart, they try to attract the attention of the opposite sex and often behave somewhat frivolously.
Young werewolves do not know how to hide their tail with the help of magic charms, therefore girls who love wide skirts to the floor can fall under suspicion. It is more difficult with more mature kitsune: they can confuse anyone's head, but they are usually given out by a mirror - they are reflected as they really are, in other words, mirrors convey their true essence. This is how the mother of the aforementioned mystic and occultist Abe no Seimei discovered herself.
Kitsune are afraid of dogs, and dogs hate werewolves. Therefore, the Japanese consider it suspicious if their new acquaintance not only does not keep dogs at home, but also speaks negatively about them, and on the street any dog bares his teeth at him.
Love story
And the Japanese foxes still have a soul. It is enclosed in a pearl, which the kitsune always carry with them - in the mouth, around the neck, as a necklace or as a bracelet. If a person manages to take this treasure, the kitsune will fulfill his every desire. You just need to take into account that foxes are vindictive, and, perhaps, this desire will then have to pay too dearly.
But werewolves and good do the same. Having fallen in love with a person, they become faithful friends, ready to help, give wise advice. Kitsune are caring mothers and fathers, and their descendants receive many talents, strength, attractiveness and the ability to communicate with the spirit world. Ono, whose wife was the fox, one morning, letting go of his beloved, said to her:
I am
Full of love
After a
minute of date.
She left …
Believe the legends about werewolves or not, we do not know. But every Japanese knows the love story of a man and a fox, which laid the foundation for the Kitsune family, whose descendants still live in Japan.