Folklore takes a lot of forms and most of the times, we do not even realize it. Sometimes, these beliefs become so ingrained into our daily lives that it becomes common knowledge without us even knowing where it came from. In the English culture, they would often talk about owls as being wise, and pigs being lazy but how did these animals get these labels? We already know that owls are not really smart, otherwise, they would not be eating icky mice. And pigs are not lazy since they really do not serve any other purpose other than being slaughtered and eaten. But we accept these descriptions of these animals anyway despite the obvious gaps in logic.

Then you come upon something a bit more interesting. Like the fox in Japanese culture and what it signifies. Kids these days made wearing a fox mask a thing and more and more want to wear one. But what does the fox signify. And how do they connect to the real fox in Japanese folklore. There are a few questions that one wants to answer like for instance if the fox were good or bad and why are fox masks prevalent in so many shinto ceremonies. These are the questions that we are going to answer in this article.

Japanese culture stems from a long history of isolation from the outside world. This allowed a unique belief untouched by anyone else to develop into its full fruition. The kitsune, or the fox, persist in so many stories, paintings, and even plays. It is no surprise that the magic of the fox is still as alive and well among every generation succeeding the ancient times.

Let us now examine some of the perceptions of the fox that some Japanese people still believe in today. It focuses on a certain god that people think to be demonic.

Fox Mask Tales – Inari

If you have heard of Inari, the good fox, then you might already be familiar with the special reputation that the Japanese people have put in foxes. There are good foxes, and there are bad foxes, and Inari, is a good one. And every single one of the evil foxes are scared of Inari.

If you have ever been to Japan, one thing that might stand out to you is the number of animal statues that are standing next to, and inside religious structures. Surely, you must have thought that they do not worship the animals. After all, excluding Hinduism, none of the major religions hold animals in such regard.

The quick answer to the question is no, they do not worship the foxes. But the answer can be a bit more complicated than that. Inari, the good fox, is usually the one that are being depicted in the statues that you probably saw. And these statues pop up from every small roadside shrines to major temples. It might not be surprising for you to go face to face with one of these monuments given that at least a third of all the statues in Japan are statues of Inari. These are usually put alongside big red gates that might also be a common sighting for people who visit Japan.

There is still much debate about the significance of Inari and how the god is connected to the belief system that the early Japanese people had. A common theme however in the investigations conducted had something to do about the Japanese’s(and most of Asia’s) staple food – rice. Given how important rice is in both Japanese cuisine, and the economy of the nation, Inari is obviously a big deal especially among farmers. In the olden days, when empires would trade goods in weight of gold, the Japanese would count a person’s net worth in terms of sacks of rice.

So what does the foxes, and fox masks have to do with all of these. Inari, has been the one that has a close tie to the foxes yet it is unknown how exactly this has begun. The earliest records of Inari worship never mentioned of foxes at all. This remains a mystery up to this day, though a lot of plausible explanations have been put forth.

A basic explanation would be because foxes are the natural protector of food. This might seem weird to the western world where foxes can be seen as pests because they devour livestock. In a predominantly plant-eating nation however, foxes are heroes as they do eat the rodents that destroy crops like rice. This has been an accepted explanation but still raises a few questions that need answering. Like, how come the fox were never domesticated if this was the case. And foxes rarely feast on rodents in rice fields as they are still wary of humans even then.

A lot still think that the real explanation is still out there waiting to be uncovered. This did not, however, stop the worshippers from following traditional rituals in their tribute to Inari. Foxes, are apparently believed to have a preference in eating abura-age or soy sauce dipped tofu. The members of the temple would leave abura-age behind in temples believing to be the perfect offering to the foxes of Inari. This belief has manifested itself in many ways. Like for instance, the kitsune-udon takes its name kitsune, which means fox, from the same. This dish is an udon topped with fried tofu pieces. And the inari-zushi, which is named after Inari is also a type of dish stuffed with tofu.

It is fascinating how this belief has been formulated. For starters, foxes will not eat tofu as they are purely carnivorous animals. The evidence is there as the names of the dishes have long been accepted but there is no explanation as to how they came about. However, food that is not normally found in the wild can sometimes be a favorite of some animals like how dogs are crazy about peanut butter and how cats gobble up tuna despite the impossibility of cats being able to fetch tuna themselves from the ocean. In fact, they even experimented on a live fox and how it never chose to eat tofu even once when offered.

Fox Mask Tales – Goblin Fox

Inari foxes are thought to be benevolent and are tied up to a powerful deity. There are however a counterpart that exist that are opposite of everything that the Inari foxes are about. They are called the youkai. Normally, strange apparitions have direct translations to other cultures. But, the youkais are unique as they only exist in Japanese lore. They range from poltergeists that move objects unwantedly around the house to strange human figures that aims to trick humans.

Fox Mask Tales – Illusions

Kitsune, the evil foxes can turn themselves into different beings. They are the equivalent of vampires of the western world. They are thought to often pose as normal human beings needing help. They sometimes take the form of weary travellers, a woman in distress, or a kindly looking monk asking for assistance. After taking in the Kitsune in disguise, the village that took him in would find that all their food will be depleted. As a young person’s nightmare, the Kitsune have also been told to shave off the heads of the people that tried to help him. And in worse cases, it would lead unwary victims to places that they are likely to be trapped in accidents and die. Kitsune is a trickster who enjoys mischief.

The Kitsune also appears in stories where his main goal is not to do something evil. It is common to hear tales about the Kitsune turning into a beautiful woman, and although it can trick men into falling for it, his intentions are not always impure. There are some stories where the Kitsune would do the favor of bearing the offspring of a married man. However, the offspring would retain some of the fox’s characteristics, namely being an avid eater of meat.

As a master of illusions, Kitsune does not necessarily have to shapeshift everytime in order to deceive unwary people. He can also cause illusions to his victims, where they would see things that do not really exist. They can sometimes think as though they live in a house where in fact, they are in the woods grasping at dirt and twigs. There are also stories about the Kitsune making people experience earthquakes to mess up with their thoughts.

The phantom stories of the Kitsune has made it to modern times. There are cases where technology malfunctions are being blamed to the fox. For instance, hearing train rides although the tracks are empty are a result of the tricking of the mind done by Kitsune. And the random messages and calls, that did not really come from anyone can also be caused by it.

As a master of tricks, the ones wearing fox masks are thought to be masters of illusions following the antics of the Kitsune.