Kitsune Yakō

In Japanese folklore, the kitsune (狐) is the fox endowed with intelligence and supernatural powers, and tradition distinguishes two major classes: the zenko (善狐), benevolent foxes associated with the deity Inari, and the yako or nogitsune (野狐), «field foxes» or «wild», of a more mischievous and sometimes malevolent nature. This «wild» form represents the initial stage of the archetype: the common Japanese fox that, after living many years, spontaneously acquires the ability to transform, without the disciplined cultivation of higher forms. Unlike the Chinese huli-jing and the Korean gumiho, predominantly female, the kitsune can adopt any gender. The folklore, collected in collections such as the Konjaku Monogatari and the Tōno Monogatari by Yanagita Kunio, places these foxes mainly in the rural sphere.

The yako dominates human transformation, although some residual trait usually gives it away, and it is famous for two characteristic powers of the kitsune: the kitsune-bi (狐火), the «fox fire» or will-o'-the-wisp with which it deceives nocturnal travelers, and the kitsune-tsuki (狐憑き), the possession that disturbs a person by altering their voice and their conduct and causing them cravings for aburaage, the fried tofu that is the favorite offering of foxes. It employs illusions, deceptive dreams and charm to swindle the peasants, and its opportunistic character leads it to act by instinct rather than by refinement. Tradition also attributes to it the ability to flee quickly when discovered, maintaining a predatory and elusive profile.

The kitsune yako constitutes the primary form of the archetype, the starting point from which can arise, with time and discipline, the higher forms: the myōbu in the service of Inari or the celestial tenko achieved by independent cultivation. In the villages epidemics of possession were attributed to it, combated with offerings of fried tofu and with exorcisms in the shrines of Inari. It belongs to the same family as the Chinese huli-jing and the Korean gumiho, with which it shares the motif of the transformed fox, but it preserves properly Japanese features, such as the link with Inari and the phenomena of kitsune-bi and kitsune-tsuki. It represents the untamed nature of the fox before its eventual spiritual elevation.