Moe Higurashi is a Kitsune
*This is a comprehensive collection of all my posts regarding my theory that Moe Higurashi is a kitsune in disguise. It's just fun speculation but unlike my other crackpot Yashahime theories, I believe this one has a good chance of being true. I will add to it as more proof becomes available.*
Moe Higurashi was suspicious to me from the very beginning. Her easy acceptance of youkai was one thing but the casual way she disregarded Towa's breaking of the Kikujūmonji, a national treasure they had gotten from a museum, really caught my attention. She needs investigating, I thought, and damn did she ever.
The most notable thing about Moe is the fact that her eyes are always closed. This is done for creative reasons at times but is also an anime trope that was once used to denote wisdom but more recently, shiftiness. A visit to the tv tropes page about this phenomenon revealed a very interesting name for it:
Kitsune no me
Sunrise, the creators of Yashahime, said every detail matters, or something to that effect, with regard to the series. It's a stretch to consider they did this so we would make that connection alone but there's more.
Rumiko Takahashi has a practice of drawing regular ordinary humans with black or brown hair and dark eyes, features Asians are most likely to have. This is especially true for the Inuyasha series and the trend seems to continue for Yashahime.
Moe's hair is already on the lighter side of what RT usually portrays for humans. Moe's eyes, when she opens them, and I think she will eventually, are most likely a shade not normally found in Asians. That could be a good reason to hide them.
The scene between Moe and Setsuna also casts suspicion on her. When praising Setsuna for her violin skills, she first declares her a once in a hundred years prodigy, then amends it to 500 years. The emphasis caught my attention. And then, Moe makes the same declaration before the three girls depart for the past.
The repeating of this statement and Moe's adamancy, makes me think Sunrise wants us to pay attention to it. Well, if Moe is a youkai, then she could have very well been around all that time to know for sure.
But consider this:
The violin wasn't invented until the early 16th century according to wikipedia. What are the chances that there would be a violin, or even a precursor, 500 years ago in Japan?
I think it was Setsuna who may have taught a young kitsune Moe how to play the violin in the Feudal Era.
There is also this: Look at this picture of the Higurashi family as presented on the official Yashahime website hanyohime has compiled.
🏠The Higurashi Modern Family🌳
Notice that Moe is the only one without shoes. She wore two different types of footwear in the show. Indoor slippers and outdoor ones like Mama Higurashi's. They not only purposely left her barefoot but made a small marking at the toe area to indicate she was wearing pantyhose. The way her lower legs and feet are presented may be an allusion to Shippo's little fox feet.
Notice the way her left foot is lifted. It mirrors the way Shippo and real foxes walk on their paws with thier ankles appearing like a second backwards knee to most people. The distortion around the toe area could also be an indication that something other than human toes are under that hose. The fact that there is no shadow change or shifting of fabric to indicate Moe's foot is lifted is suspect, especially when they did both with Mama Higurashi who also has feet in different positions. Could be bad animation, but I don't think so.
And speaking of Shippo, the two do look alike. It may be a result of RT's same face syndrome or her reuse of character models. But, I think she will be Shippo's daughter or descendant. Or not. She could be a different kind of youkai but all the humanoid Kitsunes in Inuyasha shared some similarities that she has too. So I'm leaning towards kitsune for now.
Also there is to consider that Sota was chosen by Sunrise to raise Towa. Mama Higurashi seems like the common sense candidate for that. But they chose Sota, a very young unmarried man. It's been indicated Mama and Grandpa Higurashi helped him before his marriage, but it's still an odd choice.
It could have been done for a change of scenery away from the shrine and to give Towa a younger sibling, thus echoing Kagome's life. However, it also could be to give a plausible reason for Moe to be more deeply involved with the girls when they visit the modern era. Especially since I think youkai living and hiding in the modern era is really going to come into play.
