The kitsune no yomeiri (狐の嫁入り; "the fox's wedding") is a term or metaphor for certain natural phenomena, or a folk belief regarding a supernatural event, in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The term "kitsune no yomeiri" can refer to several things: atmospheric ghost lights, in which it appears as if paper lanterns from a wedding procession are floating through the dark; sunshowers; or various other phenomena that may resemble wedding processions and are referenced in classical Japanese kaidan, essays, and legends. The kitsune no yomeiri is always closely related to foxes, or kitsune, who often play tricks on humans in Japanese legend; various Shinto rituals and festive rites relating to the kitsune no yomeiri have been developed in various parts of Japan.
As atmospheric ghost lights A topography book of the Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture), from the Hōreki period, the "Echigo Nayose" (越後名寄), includes the following statement about the appearance of the "kitsune no yomeiri":
At whatever time at night, whatever place, on occasions when it becomes extraordinarily quiet, flames like paper lanterns or torches can be seen usually continuing far into the distance, far surpassing even one ri. They are quite rare in all places, but they appear occasionally in the Kanbara district. This is what the young call "the wedding of foxes". (Yoru itsu izuko tomo iu koto naku, wori shizuka naru yoru ni, chōchin arui ha taimatsu no gotoku naru hi, oyoso ichiri-yo mo manaku tsuzukite wochikata ni miyuru koto ari. Migi, izure no tokoro nite mo mare ni ari to ihedomo, Kanbara-gun chū ni ha worifushi kore ari. Kore wo jidō-bara "kitsune no kon" to ihinarahaseri.) In here, lines of atmospheric ghost lights that stretch close to 4 kilometers are called "kitsune no kon", and also in Nakakubiki District, Niigata Prefecture, and Uonuma of the same prefecture, the Akita Prefecture, Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture, Nanakai, Nishiibaraki District of the same prefecture (now Shirosato), Hitachiōta of the same prefecture, Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, Higashichichibu of the same prefecture, the Tama area of Tokyo, the Gunma Prefecture, the Tochigi Prefecture, Mukawa, Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, the Mie Prefecture, Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, and Nanbu, Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture, among other places, when atmospheric ghost lights (kitsunebi) are seen in the countryside at night, it is called "kitsune no yomeiri." What it is called varies depending on area; for example, the phenomenon is called "kitsune no yometori (狐の嫁取り, the fox's wife-taking)" in Sōka, Saitama Prefecture and Noto, Fugeshi District, Ishikawa Prefecture (now Noto, Hōsu District) while referred to as "kitsune no shūgen" (狐の祝言) in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture. In Japan, holding a wedding in a specific place did not become common until the middle of the Showa period. Prior to this, it was common for weddings to be performed in the evening and for the bride to enter with a procession of paper lanterns. Since atmospheric ghost lights that extend in a line can look like lanterns and torches from a wedding ceremony, and since paper lanterns were known to be used during a fox's wedding ceremony, they were thus called such names. There are several theories as to why the bride and groom are seen as foxes. One such theory says that although the lights appeared to be signifying a wedding, there was actually no wedding anywhere and the entire thing was an elaborate trick played by foxes. Because the mysterious lights looked like paper lanterns from afar but disappeared once one got close, it was almost as if one was being fooled by a fox. In the past, in Toyoshima in Edo (now Toshima, Kita ward, Tokyo, and Ouji, of the same ward), for atmospheric ghost lights to continuously appear and quiver and shake around in the darkness is called "kitsune no yomeiri," and is counted as one of the "seven mysteries of Toshima" told about in this village. In Kirinzan, Niigata Prefecture, there lived many foxes, and it is said that there was a wedding procession at night that hanged paper lanterns. In Niigata as well as Shiki District, Nara Prefecture, a fox's wedding is thought to be connected to agriculture, and it is said that for many atmospheric ghost lights to appear means that it is a plentiful year, and for few of them to appear means it is year of poor crops. Depending on the area, there are legends including not only the sighting of atmospheric ghost lights but purported sightings of actual weddings as well. In Gyōda, Saitama Prefecture, it is said that kitsune no yomeiri frequently appears in the Kasuga Shrine in Tanigou, and it is reported that here and there along the road, fox feces can be found after one such reported event. In Horado, Mugi District, Gifu Prefecture (now Seki), it is said that it was not merely atmospheric ghost lights that were seen, but the sound of bamboo burning and tearing was also heard continuing for several days, but that there were no traces found even when an attempt was made to check what it was. In the Tokushima Prefecture, they were not considered fox's weddings, but rather fox's funerals, and were an omen that someone was about to die. Concerning the true identity of these atmospheric ghost lights, it is thought that perhaps people mistook it for lights that were actually there, or possibly the illusion from an unusual refraction of light.
Legend related to the weather
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