Topic summary
Fox spirit
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Foxes in popular culture.
East Asia
In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese folklores, "fox spirits" (huli jing in China, kitsune in Japan, kumiho in Korea, and hồ ly tinh in Vietnam) are powerful spirits that are known for their highly mischievous and cunning nature, and they often take on the form of beautiful women to seduce or trick men. In Modern Chinese, the word huli jing is often used to negatively describe a mistress of an extramarital affair. In ancient Korean tales, fox spirits are portrayed as anti-deities that threaten the deity-dragons. In Shinto of Japan, kitsune sometimes help people as an errand of their deity, Inari.