Kitsune (fox)
The , in popular Japanese tradition, are foxes or fox spirits that possess supernatural abilities such as shapeshifting, and capable of bewitching people. General overview , though literally a 'fox', becomes in folklore a 'fox spirit', or perhaps a type of . They are ascribed with intelligence and magical or supernatural powers, especially so with long-living foxes. The ''kitsune'' exhibit the ability of , or transforming its shape and appearance, like the ''bake-danuki, tanuki'' as well as the ability to , i.e. beguile or bewitch; these terms are related to the generic term meaning "spectre" or "goblin". Another scholar ascribes the ''kitsune'' with being a "disorienting deity" (that makes the traveler lose his way) and such capabilities were also ascribed to badgers (actually ''bake-danuki, tanuki'' or raccoon dog) and occasionally to cats (cf. ''bakeneko''). The archetypal method by which the ''kitsune'' tricks () humans is to lead them astray, or make them lose their ...
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