Guys, I just realized the reason the furniture in Animal Crossing just looks like leaves when its in your inventory is that, according to traditional Japanese folklore, yokai use leaves to create illusions. They can’t conjure up an object out of nothing; they need a leaf to turn into the object.
This is reference in Pokemon when a powerful Ninetales makes Team Rocket think they’re in a room full of cookies when it’s actually a room full of fallen leaves. (They had a serious stomach ache after that.)
So, essentially, none of the furniture in Animal Crossing is real; it’s all illusory.
But, it gets even better. Who’s the guy who sold you furniture in the first few games?
And who’s his main rival?
A tanuki and a fox. Two animals known in Shinto lore for creating illusions.
