Kitsune - In Japanese lore, a wild fox demon that often appears in the form of a beautiful maiden, who vampirizes her victims sexually. The kitsune appears in many Japanese folktales. It originated in the lore of China, where it is described as a lewd creature.
To accomplish its shape-shifting, the kitsune flicks its fire-shooting tail once, puts on a human skull, turns around, and bows to the Big Dipper constellation. If the skull remains in place and does not fall, the transformation is successtul.
Fox maidens hide in forested areas and use human voices to lure victims and cast spells over them. They also frequent eating and drinking establishments and prey upon people who eat and drink too much. If they eat and drink too much themselves, they vanish without harming the victim. In addition to sexually ravaging victims, the fox maidens love to cut women's hair and shave men's heads as pranks.
According to lore, whenever it rains when the sun is shining brightly, a fox maiden bride is going through the woods in a procession to the home of her groom. Marsh lights are fireballs breathed by the foxes or created by their fire-shooting tails; or the lights are the torches carried by the foxes who lead a wedding procession.
In the mountainous areas of Japan where kitsune lore is strong, annual rites traditionally are held to ward off kitsune troubles. Processions of people take straw foxes and dolls to a mountain outside of the village, where they are buried.
Kitsune-tsuki is a form of possession in which a person—usually a woman—taken over by a wild fox spirit exhibits cravings for certain food, insomnia, restlessness, and aberrant behavior. The person becomes a proxy for the fox as a messenger of Inari, the god of rice. The possessed person especially wants to eat red beans and rice.
The possessing spirit enters the body either through the breast or under the fingernails. It resides on the left side of the body or in the stomach. The victim hears the fox spirit speak inside her head; when she talks out loud, the fox spirit takes on a different voice.
Kitsune-tsuki has been recorded in Japan since the 12th century. The possession originated in China. Some cases of kitsuni-tsuki are believed to be revenge for a family's former offenses against the huli jing.
Text from The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters (Checkmark Books, 2005) by Rosemary Guiley
