A depiction of a kitsunetsuki in the Gyokuzan Gafu by Okada Gyokuzan [ja]

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.[1] 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.[2]

Stories of fox possession (kitsunetsuki) can be found in all lands of Japan, as part of its folk religion.[3] Stories of kitsunetsuki s have already been attested during the Heian period.[4][6]

From a clinical standpoint, those possessed by a fox are thought to suffer from a mental illness or similar condition.[3] Such illness explanations were already being published by the 19th century, but the superstition was difficult to eradicate.[7] (cf. § Edo period criticism)

Heian period

The belief in kitsunetsuki dates back to the Heian Period.[4][9] The attribution of illness to evil fox spirit is already attested in Nihon ryōiki ("Miraculous Stories", 9th century),[10] hence folk belief in kitsunetsuki dates at least as far back as this.[5]

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[11]) 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][b][12][14][15] 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)[17]

Hungry fox

It is said that when a fox possesses a person, it does so in order to satiate hunger, or craving for more delicacy or gourmet food. Or it may harbor a desire to be worshiped.[18]

But the possessed person himself or herself 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 e.g the narrative (setsuwa) of the 11th century Uji shūi monogatari[19][20][21]

Muromachi and Edo period

The idea of fox possession arguably became more widespread in the fifteenth century.[8]

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).[22][7] But the superstition would persistently remain entrenched in the populace for many more years.[7][23]

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.[24] 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.[25]

Ninko

The ninko [ja] (or jinko[26]) 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).[28] The associate lore of kitsunemochi or "fox owning" families is sporadic throughout Japan, but prevalent in the western portion of the former Izumo province.[29]

It was in this central San'in region where gossip about certain families being ninko-havers (ninko-mochi or kistune-mochi) got started.[30] According to the work Izumo kokunai jinko monogatari (出雲国内人狐物語) (1786),[d] the very concept of "kitsune-mochi" arose around the early Kyōhō era (c. 1710s), in the wake of conflict between the landlord peasant[e] and his sharecroppers, where resentment toward the landlord's sanctions resulted in the spreading of the vicious rumor.[31]

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[32]) who was well versed enough in fox superstition matters to know the jargon jinko/ninko to informed the peasantry.[33][34] Before that, the spirit was probably called gedō [ja] 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)[35]) to arrive at tenko, chiko, jinko/ninko or the heavenly, earthly, and man-fox.[36][37]

What the Izumo folk call ninko or kitsune-mochi parallels the inugami ("dog spirit") of the neighboring Iwami Province[38] and Oki islands.[39] (Shimane Prefecture).[f] The inugami was also known as tōhyō[g][38][40] though tōbyō [ja] is usually considered a serpent familial spirit.[41]

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".[42] 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.[citation needed]

Exorcism

Attempting to rid someone of a fox spirit was done via an exorcism, sometimes perhaps at an Inari shrine,[43][44] but usually through visit by a miko (female shaman, nominally or actually a Shinto priestess) or a yamabushi trained in shugendō.[45][44][h]

The miko will first transfer the fox spirit from the patient to herself, as in the medieval tale described under § Hungry fox[21]

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.[44]

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 [ja], a sort of séance to speak on behalf of the spirit.[47][48]

Clinical study and psychiatry

Kitunetsuki remained a common diagnosis for mental illness until the early 20th century.[4] Possession was the explanation for the abnormal behavior displayed by the afflicted individuals. In the late 19th century, Shunichi Shimamura noted that physical diseases that caused fever were often considered kitsunetsuki.[49] The superstition has lost favor, but stories of fox possession still occur, such as allegations that members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult had been possessed.[50]

Clinical psychiatric studies of the kitsunetsuki were still made during the Meiji Era (end of 20th century), especially around Shimane (Hearn's home province) where kitsunetsuki remained prevalent.[51] A German doctor coined the term alopecanthropy for it, in 1885.[23]

Symptoms include cravings for rice or sweet adzuki beans, listlessness, restlessness, and aversion to eye contact. This sense of kitsunetsuki is similar to but distinct from clinical lycanthropy.[52]

Familiar spirits

The faith healers who are hired to cure the kitsune-tsuki as an illness, the miko

se families are said to have been able to use their fox to gain fortune, but marriage into such a family was considered forbidden as it would enlarge the family.[3] They were also said to be able to bring about illness and curse the possessions, crops, and livestock of enemies.[53] This caused them to be considered taboo by the other families, which led to societal problems.[53]

There are families that tell of protective fox spirits, and in certain regions, possession by a kuda-gitsune,[3] osaki,[54][53] yako,[3] and hito-gitsune are also called kitsunetsuki.[3][53]

See also

  • gedō [ja] - another tutelary (familial) animal spirit
  • tōbyō [ja] - another tutelary (familial) animal spirit, usually conceived of as snake

Notes

  1. ^ Nakamura points out that the avian soul-possessor, actually a kite being called a "celestial fox" (tenko) further indicates how much the "fox" was the stereotypical soul-possessing creature. The term celestial fox as used in China had a different meaning, a supernatural evolution of an aged fox, which Nakamura notes also. It is pointed out that the terms tenko "celestial fox" and tengu "celestial dog" were once often mixed up,[12] and a work as late as the Ainōshō [ja] (1445) states the same.[13] The tengu or rather karasutengu are familiarly depicted as winged or birdlike.
  2. ^ The hitogata in the context of onmyōdō normally thought of as being a "paper figurine" (cf. Rappo 2023, p. 43), but Lomi points out that the "flour, poison, juice" mixture was plausibly used, though not explict in the Ritual text. Nakamura states the material as men (麺) which nowadays may mean "noodle" but archaically can be read as "wheat flour" (mugiko), hence "dough".
  3. ^ Northern half of Chugoku, facing the Seas of Japan.
  4. ^ By Yamane Yoemon (山根与右衛門).
  5. ^ funō (富農, lit. 'wealthy peasant'), sometimes glossed as kulak.
  6. ^ Former Izumo, Iwami, and Oki provinces are now part of Shimane Prefecture. The inugami is also known elsewhere, in parts of Shikoku.
  7. ^ Inoue says the tōhyō name derives from the lore that the spirit was stored in earthenware jars called dobin (土瓶, lit. 'earth bottle') apparently pronounced tōhyō in slang.
  8. ^ Hearn also gives hōin (法印) but he explains it to be just a yamabushi of higher rank.[46] This has been explained as just a local name in Izumo for a training shugendō practitioner.[36][37]

References

  1. ^ Nozaki 1961, p. 59.
  2. ^ Blacker, Carmen (1999). The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan (PDF). Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-873410-85-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Miyamoto, Kesao [in Japanese] (1980). "Kitsunetsuki" 狐憑き キツネツキ. In Sakurai, Tokutarō [in Japanese] (ed.). Minkan shinkō jiten 民間信仰辞典 (in Japanese). Tōkyōdō shuppan. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-4-490-10137-9.
  4. ^ a b c Nozaki 1961, p. 211.
  5. ^ a b Maruyama, Akinori [in Japanese] (1992). "Dai-2 shō. Kitsune no Atai setsuwa (jō 2 kan)" 第二章狐の直説話（上2巻）. Nihon ryōiki setsuwa no kenkyū 日本霊異記説話の研究 (in Japanese). Tokyo: Ōfūsha. p. 48. ISBN 9784273026165.
  6. ^ illness causing fox spirit in Nihon ryōiki (9th century), identified as.[5]
  7. ^ a b c Komatsu, Kazuhiko [in Japanese] (1992). Mongatari bungei no hyōgenshi 憑霊信仰. Minshū shūkyōshi sōsho 民衆宗教史叢書 30. Yuzankaku. pp. 288–299. ISBN 9784639010937.
  8. ^ a b Smits 1996, p. 84.
  9. ^ The diary of Fujiwara no Sanesuke (d. 1046), recording that the priestess of Ise Grand Shrine was purportedly possessed.[8]
  10. ^ Foster 2024, p. 229; [2015], pp. 182–183
  11. ^ Lomi 2014, pp. 256, 263.
  12. ^ a b Nakamura 2003, p. 322.
  13. ^ de Visser 1908a, p. 36.
  14. ^ Lomi 2014, pp. 272–273.
  15. ^ Rappo 2023, pp. 43, 56.
  16. ^ Nakamura 2003, p. 323.
  17. ^ Chōen (澄円) (c.1278–87) Byakuhōshō (白宝抄), Book 51: "天狐はトビの形也。地狐はキツネの形也。人狐は女人形也。これ天地人の障礙「神形也」"[16]
  18. ^ de Visser (1908a), p. 148.
  19. ^ Uji shūi monogatari, Book. 4. 狐、人に憑きてしとぎ食ふ事.
  20. ^ de Visser 1908a, p. 39.
  21. ^ a b Foster 2024, p. 228; [2015], p. 182
  22. ^ a b Suyama Shōteki/Hisamichi (陶山尚迪), art name Hizan (簸山) (9 month of Bunsei 1 /1818). Hakushū Unshū Jinko benwaku dan (伯州雲州人狐弁惑談, 'Discourse on the clarification of misunderstandings about the man-fox of Izumo Province and Hōki Province')
  23. ^ a b Foster 2024, p. 230.
  24. ^ Hearn 1910, p. 224.
  25. ^ Hearn 1910, p. 232.
  26. ^ Casal 1959, p. 21.
  27. ^ Nakamura 2003, p. 334.
  28. ^ The Izumo and Hōki Provinces are named in the full title of Jinko benwaku dan which tries to explode the fox possession myth.[22] These provinces occurred within what is now called the San'in region[c] is the honba (≈the capital) of the ninko myth according to Teiri Nakamura [ja].[27]
  29. ^ Casal 1959, pp. 20–21.
  30. ^ Nakamura 2003, p. 358.
  31. ^ Nakamura 2003, p. 341.
  32. ^ Hearn 1910, p. 231, note *
  33. ^ Kuramitsu 1922, p. 84: "しからば元々外道と呼ばれて居た筈の出雲の物に、人狐などいう子細らしい名前を附けた者は、誰でなければならぬかといふに、それは當然修驗、行者、即ち同地方にて謂所の法印であらねばならぬ"
  34. ^ Kinjō 1934, p. 175: "四角張つた名を知つてゐたものは、餘程狐に就いての物識であらねばならぬが、その點から考へてもその名附親が田舎に於ける法印は唯一といつても好い嵌り役"
  35. ^ Shogakukan Digital Daijisen dictionary, s.v. {{URL1=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%B8%89%E6%89%8D-70693 |2=sansai 三才}}:
  36. ^ a b Kuramitsu 1922, p. 84.
  37. ^ a b Kinjō 1934, p. 175.
  38. ^ a b Inoue, Enryō (1886). Yōkaigaku kōgi: Rigaku (in Japanese). Tetsugakkan. p. 232.
  39. ^ Chamberlain, Basil Hall (1908). Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan for the Use of Travellers and Others. John Murray. pp. 119–120.
  40. ^ Nichibunken (2002). [httpps://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiDB3/simsearch.cgi?ID=0850070 "Inugami" イヌガミ]. Yōkai database 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース. Retrieved 2025-03-12. The top data is inugami from Kōchi Prefecture 1954. Other entries are inugami-mochi, Shimane, 1922; tsukimono, kitsune, tōbyō, Shimane 1948.
  41. ^ Fairchild 1962, p. 39.
  42. ^ Hearn 1910, p. 234; [1896], p. 328
  43. ^ Smyers 1999, p. 90.
  44. ^ a b c Hearn 1910, p. 231; [1896], p. 324
  45. ^ Fairchild 1962, p. 38.
  46. ^ Hearn 1910, p. 231, note*
  47. ^ Foster, Michael Dylan (2009). Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai. University of California Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780520253629.
  48. ^ Fairchild 1962, pp. 37–38: kitsune no kuchiyose; Fairchild 1962, p. 120: a izuna kuchiyose might also be considered fox spirit summoning ; but Fairchild 1962, p. 57, et passim, a miko performs such kuchiyose for various spirits not necessarily of the fox kind.
  49. ^ Nozaki 1961, pp. 214–215.
  50. ^ Miyake-Downey, Jean. "Ten Thousand Things". Kyoto Journal. Archived from the original on April 6, 2008.
  51. ^ Nozaki 1961, p. 213–215.
  52. ^ Yonebayashi, T. (1964). "Kitsunetsuki (Possession by Foxes)". Transcultural Psychiatry. 1 (2): 95–97. doi:10.1177/136346156400100206. S2CID 220489895.
  53. ^ a b c d Sato, Yoneshi (1977). Inada, Kōji [in Japanese] (ed.). Nihon mukashibanashi jiten 日本昔話事典 (in Japanese). Kōbundō. pp. 250–251. ISBN 978-4-335-95002-5.
  54. ^ Minzokugaku kenkyūsho 民俗学研究所, ed. (1951). "Kitsunetsuki" 狐憑. Minzokugaku jiten 民俗学辞典 (in Japanese). Tōkyōdō shuppan. pp. 137–138. NCID BN01703544.

Works cited

Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsunetsuki
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