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soc_puppetJust a quick little thing with a bunch of the stuff I remember from random places so I can share it if need be. Ignore if you like--or feel free to correct.
• It is completely canon for foxes to transform into alluring young women and seduce men 8D
• Their transformation process is indeed called 'henge'; to do this, they need to put a leaf on their head. There are two other types of spirits that can henge (that I remember): the tanuki and the tengu.
• There are many stories of men taking fox wives who are later outed because (one of) their tails show or because their shadow looks like a fox's or because a dog barked and startled them into losing their concentration and their form.
• When caught in legends, they are almost always thrown out. One of the few exceptions to the rule is the story that tells how the kitsune got its name: In classical Japanese, "kitsu-ne" means "come and sleep," while "ki-tsune" means "come always."
• Kitsune traditionally don't start out with nine tails; they get them after time passes.
• This happens in one of two ways: either they get one new tail for every hundred years they live, or they turn into a nine-tailed fox once they've lived a thousand years.
• This is usually accompanied by a color change to gold or silver.
• Traditionally, Kitsune eat mice.
• They are also fond of fried tofu, which is why kitsune udon has a lot of it.
• In China, the fox was more of a malevolent spirit; in Japan, it at least became more of a benevolent entity.
• At least part of this is probably due to its status as a messenger to the god Inari.
• There are still stories of fox spirits that drain people of energy, but they usually inform the victim afterwards of the fastest way to regain that energy--noodles.
• They are notorious tricksters.
Yes, a fair amount of this I originally found via![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ickaimp's Ki~Tsu~Ne fics and the very helpful notes at the end, though there were at least a few other sources. There are almost certainly mistakes (and there are definitely omissions) here, so everyone is invited to point them out.
• It is completely canon for foxes to transform into alluring young women and seduce men 8D
• Their transformation process is indeed called 'henge'; to do this, they need to put a leaf on their head. There are two other types of spirits that can henge (that I remember): the tanuki and the tengu.
• There are many stories of men taking fox wives who are later outed because (one of) their tails show or because their shadow looks like a fox's or because a dog barked and startled them into losing their concentration and their form.
• When caught in legends, they are almost always thrown out. One of the few exceptions to the rule is the story that tells how the kitsune got its name: In classical Japanese, "kitsu-ne" means "come and sleep," while "ki-tsune" means "come always."
• Kitsune traditionally don't start out with nine tails; they get them after time passes.
• This happens in one of two ways: either they get one new tail for every hundred years they live, or they turn into a nine-tailed fox once they've lived a thousand years.
• This is usually accompanied by a color change to gold or silver.
• Traditionally, Kitsune eat mice.
• They are also fond of fried tofu, which is why kitsune udon has a lot of it.
• In China, the fox was more of a malevolent spirit; in Japan, it at least became more of a benevolent entity.
• At least part of this is probably due to its status as a messenger to the god Inari.
• There are still stories of fox spirits that drain people of energy, but they usually inform the victim afterwards of the fastest way to regain that energy--noodles.
• They are notorious tricksters.
Yes, a fair amount of this I originally found via
ickaimp's Ki~Tsu~Ne fics and the very helpful notes at the end, though there were at least a few other sources. There are almost certainly mistakes (and there are definitely omissions) here, so everyone is invited to point them out.
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-26 04:29 am (UTC)More information can be found on Shinigami Stories: Last Night (http://www.mischif.net/writings/current/shinigami/shinilastnight.htm). Think there was another link in there.
Kitsune.org (http://www.kitsune.org/) also has various stories.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-01 10:14 pm (UTC)Knew I forgot something ^^a And thanks for pointing that out ^_^ I'll edit this to include those eventually. Probably.