Kitsunetsuki

Kitsunetsuki (狐憑き, 狐付き), also written kitsune-tsuki, literally means "the state of being possessed by a fox". The victim is usually said to be a young woman, whom the fox enters beneath her fingernails or through her breasts. In some cases, the victims' facial expressions are said to change in such a way that they resemble those of a fox. Though foxes in folklore can possess a person of their own will, kitsunetsuki is often attributed to the malign intents of hereditary fox employers. Stories of fox possession (kitsunetsuki) can be found in all lands of Japan, as part of its folk religion. Stories of kitsunetsuki have already been attested during the Heian period. From a clinical standpoint, those possessed by a fox are thought to suffer from a mental illness or similar condition. Such illness explanations were already being published by the 19th century, but the superstition was difficult to eradicate. (cf. § Edo period criticism)

Heian period The belief in kitsunetsuki dates back to the Heian Period. The attribution of illness to evil fox spirit is already attested in Nihon ryōiki ("Miraculous Stories", 9th century), hence folk belief in kitsunetsuki dates at least as far back as this.

Early three foxes ritual Another piece of evidence that fox possession must have already been firmly been entrenched some time after the introduction the esoteric of mikkyō Buddhism in the 9th century was that the esoteric Buddhist liturgy Rokujikyō (六字経法; 'Ritual of the Sutra of the Six Letters Formula') for removing spiritual possession (or at least fox-caused illness) involved creating the effigies of the "three foxes", namely chiko (地狐; 'earth fox' or 'fox'), tenko (天狐; 'sky or celestial fox' or 'bird'), and hitogata (人形; 'human doll') out of dough and swallowing the burnt ash. A related work Byakuhōshō (13th cent.) calls the three foxes celestial fox, terrestrial fox, and jinko (人狐; 'man fox'), and refers to them as the three "obstacles" (rāhula)

Hungry fox It is said that when a fox possesses a person, it does so in order to satiate hunger, a craving for more delicacy or gourmet food, or it may harbor a desire to be worshiped. The possessed person often cannot articulate what the fox's motives or wishes are, so the possession is taken over by a miko exorcist temporarily, who can speak on behalf of the devil. Such is the turn of events in works such as Uji Shūi Monogatari.

Muromachi and Edo period The idea of fox possession arguably became more widespread in the fifteenth century. The rational explanation as an illness had already appeared in print in the work Jinko benwaku dan (人狐弁惑談; 'Discourse on the clarification of misunderstandings about the man-fox') (1818). But the superstition would persistently remain entrenched in the populace for many more years.

Persisting superstition

Izumo area A ninko ("man-fox") according to Lafcadio Hearn is a fox spirit, apparently smaller than the usual fox (no larger than a weasel) except its tail being like a normal full-sized fox's. It is invisible so cannot be detected until it takes possession of some human. Actually the ninko is considered to be kept by the kitsune-mochi, i.e., families gossiped to own and control a fox that can possess, gaining success via that power.

Ninko The ninko (or jinko) is actually a regional term, only spoken of commonly (outside of literature) in the region where Hearn resided, Izumo (now Shimane Prefecture), the neighboring Hōki (now part of Tottori Prefecture). The associate lore of kitsunemochi or "fox owning" families is sporadic throughout Japan, but prevalent in the western portion of the former Izumo province. It was in this central San'in region where gossip about certain families being ninko-havers (ninko-mochi or kitsune-mochi) got started. According to the work Izumo kokunai jinko monogatari (出雲国内人狐物語) (1786), the very concept of "kitsune-mochi" arose around the early Kyōhō era (c. 1710s), in the wake of conflict between the landlord peasant and his sharecroppers, where resentment toward the landlord's sanctions resulted in the spreading of the vicious rumor. However Seiroku Kuramitsu (倉光清六) (with ties to folklorist Kunio Yanagita) asserted that a suitably educated person, almost certainly a hōin (法印) (shugendō trained yamabushi of high status) who was well versed enough in fox superstition matters to know the jargon jinko/ninko to informed the peasantry. Before that, the spirit was probably called gedō as in other regions. Also, one simply needs to juxtapose "fox" with the stock phrase ten chi jin sansai (天地人三才; lit. 'heaven, earth, people, the 3 causalities', meaning all phenomena in the world)) to arrive at tenko, chiko, jinko/ninko or the heavenly, earthly, and man-fox. What the Izumo folk call ninko or kitsune-mochi parallels the inugami ("dog spirit") of the neighboring Iwami Province and Oki islands. (Shimane Prefecture). The inugami was also known as tōhyō though tōbyō is usually considered a serpent familial spirit.

Kitsune-mochi benefits and stigma Other kitsune use their magic for the benefit of their companion or hosts as long as the humans treat them with respect. As yōkai, however, kitsune do not share human morality, and a kitsune who has adopted a house in this manner may, for example, bring its host money or items that it has stolen from the neighbors. Accordingly, common households thought to harbor kitsune (kitsune-mochi, or "fox-havers") are "shunned". Oddly, samurai families were often reputed to share similar arrangements with kitsune, but these foxes were considered zenko and the use of their magic a sign of prestige.

Exorcism Attempting to rid someone of a fox spirit was done via an exorcism, sometimes perhaps at an Inari shrine, but usually through visit by a miko (female shaman, nominally or actually a Shinto priestess) or a yamabushi trained in shugendō. The miko will first transfer the fox spirit from the patient to herself, as in the medieval tale described under § Hungry fox If a priest was not available or if the exorcism failed, alleged victims of kitsunetsuki might be badly burned or beaten in hopes of driving out the fox spirits. The whole family of someone thought to be possessed might be ostracized by their community.

Self-induced possession A miko or itako purports to be capable of forcing a controlled possession of herself by a fox spirit, and engage in kuchiyose, a sort of séance to speak on behalf of the spirit.

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