Much of our knowledge of Chinese and Japanese fox beliefs and practices comes from the folktales that have circulated throughout the two cultures. However, although these resources are undoubtably valuable to us in our understanding of fox beliefs, they are problematic as evidence. The problem, pointed out by T.W. Johnson in Far Eastern Fox Lore, is, as he puts it, due to the long history of literacy in the region. Stories pass back and forth between literary and oral traditions and so it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. The tales have the potential to give us insights into the general feelings and beliefs towards fox beliefs, but this cross-pollination has to be taken into account. I have included references to these only when they seem to illustrate a general trend in the beliefs of the people towards foxes. For example, tales of Chinese foxes illustrate, or perhaps even contributed to the fact of the fox being considered a malicious creature in Chinese folklore, and therefore may help to shed light on one aspect of Chinese fox beliefs.

The fox in Chinese tales

Most authors tend to emphasise that the fox in China was considered almost exclusively a malicious creature. Texts dating to the beginning of Chinese civilisation refer to the fox as a 'demonic creature upon whose back spirits ride'. According to T. Watters in his paper "Chinese Fox-Myths", the fox has been considered an unlucky creature since the earliest times. Yet at the same time, he points out, shrines were often erected in the fox's honour, a sign of the fox as more than simply a malicious demon.

J. M. De Groot gives a wealth of information about Chinese fox beliefs as illustrated through old tales and literature. Though he deals exclusively with literature, we can see the similarities between these and the ancient practices of the Siberian, Ainu and Japanese peoples. Like most of the available literature, his references are overwhelmingly in favour of the fox as malicious. For example, even prior to the third century BCE, a profusion of foxes was taken as an omen regarding the impending doom of the kingdom. This is a rather extreme example of the ancient Siberian belief of the fox's passing as a bad omen. Similarly, many of the early tales refer to the fox as a harbinger of disaster, as the following tale illustrates:

Hia-heu Tsao of the Tsiao region had a mother who was very ill. Therefore he went to Shun-yu Chi, in order to consult the oracle about her; but just then a fox at his door set up a howling against him. Much terrified he hastened to Chi, who said: ‘the misfortune which this case portends is very imminent; hurry home, and howl and wail with your hands on your breast on the very spot where the fox did so, so that all your family, old and young, rush out in right and amazement; go on from that misfortune’. Tsao went home and followed the advice. His mother too, in spite of her illness, rushed out, and no sooner were the members of the family gathered in the main apartment than five side-rooms of the house fell in with a thundering noise.

The fox’s yelp signifying disaster is a common motif in both Chinese and Japanese folklore. Many tales see the fox as a cause of disease and madness , a belief that can be seen in the folk beliefs of China and Japan relating to fox-possession throughout all eras.

It is during the Han dynasty that stories of foxes assuming a human form and tricking people began to emerge, though the fox continued to be associated with disease and madness. The final evolution comes in the Tang dynasty, when the image of the fox as a seductress became a very popular subject, such as in the following story:

A son of the family Wei in Tu-ling dwelt in Han-ching (in Shanxi province) and was the owner of a country house, some ten miles north of that town. In the first year of the Kai Ching period (836 C.E.), he left the town for it in the autumnal season, and saw at nightfall a woman in plain dress coming from the north with a calabas. “For a year I have swelt in a village north of the town,” said she; “my family is very poor; I suffer ignominious treatment from a village tax-collector, and am now on the way to denounce that man to the magistrates; I shall be much obliged if you will write down the case on paper and let me have the document, that I may take it to the town, and thus wash away the shame that is brought upon me by that man.” Wei consented to this, and the woman bowed to him politely, then sat down on the turf. Taking a wine goblet from her clothes, the woman said “I have wine in my calabash. Let us empty it together and be drunk”, and filling the cup, she drank to his health. Wei in his turn raised the goblet, but just then a huntsman on horseback came by from the west with a pack of hounds. On perceving them, the woman instantly ran off eastwards, and she had not taken more than ten paces at the most, when she was transformed into a fox. Wei’s fright was enormous on seeing that the cup he held was a human skull, and that the wine was something like cow piss. He had an attack of fever, which subsided a month later.”

De Groot’s work concentrates overwhelmingly on the notion of the fox as a malicious creature, and based on this, one might get the impression that this was the only kind of fox tale known in China. Based on the available literature, this does seem to be the predominant notion of foxes in Chinese tales, and reflects the most common picture we get of Chinese foxes. However, as I have mentioned, the fox in Chinese folk practices played a benevolent role in certain areas, and it makes sense to assume that fox tales of a different nature also exist.

Eberhard, after studying six collections of Chinese tales, including the Liaozhai tales, categorised the tales into four major categories. The first category was the idea, predominant in the Liaozhai tales, of the fox as a seductress in human form, such as the one mentioned above. This form of fox tale became popular in the Tang dynasty, and as we can see from Songling’s collection, remained the predominant theme into the Qing dynasty.

Eberhard’s second category was “experiences with evil fox ghosts”. Often this included an erotic element, but the general theme was one of revenge on the part of the fox, again like much of De Groot’s material. The third group was “general experiences with foxes”, where the fox carries no moral character one way or the other. Finally was “experiences with good foxes”. Though there are few references to it, this kind of story did exist, and typically involved a fox offering gratitude for a good deed done to it. De Visser gives a good example of this. He explains, the fox was a thousand years old, and his life was spared by someone whom he had intended to kill. Afterwards, however, he warned the person who had spared his life that his servants were planning to kill him. The animal ascended to the heavens after this, and became a celestial fox.

The fox in Japanese tales

Eberhard’s four categories also appear in Japanese folklore, but those of the fourth category are far more well-known here than they are in China, possibly due to the influence of Inari and the spread of fox worship.

The earliest known Japanese fox story falls somewhere between Eberhard’s first and third categories, and dates from Emperor Kimmei’s reign (540-571):

In the Emperor Kimmei’s reign, a man from Ono distirct, Mino province, went out to look for a good wife. After a long time he met in the field a beautiful woman, of whom he asked: “Will you become my wife?” She consented; whereupon he took her with him to his house and married her. After a while she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. At that time there was a puppy in the house, which always barked at its mistress. She beseeched her husband to kill the beast, because she was very much afraid of it, but he did not do so, although he loved her greatly. Once on a certain day the dog made as if it would bite her, but withdrew barking. Suddenly the frightened woman changed into a fox, which climbed upon the fence and sat there, while the husband, looking at the transformed wife, said: “Between you and me a child has been born, therefore I cannot forget you. Come always and sleep with me.” She acted in accordance with her husband’s words and came to sleep with him. For this reason she was called Ki-tsune (come always, ???). She wore at that time a scarley-painted dress. Her child was called Ki-tsu-ne. He grew to be a very strong man and could run as fast as a bird can fly.

Like many legends, the tale imparts some aspect of folk belief, in this case the notion that dog’s were one of the fox’s weak points. In this case, it also highlights the Japanese love of wordplay, in its suggestion of the origin of kitsune. This wordplay aspect will come up again, when dealing with the origin’s of the fox’s association with Inari.

The next tale illustrate Eberhard’s fourth category, the story of a fox who shows her gratitude for a good deed:

In ancient times, in Kyoto, there once came to a crtain place a fox-possessed woman who spoke as follows: “I am a fox. I have come here not to bring a curse but because I am hungry and I thought there might be some food here that I might eat. In this way I became a captive.”So saying, she took out of her bosom a small, white jewel, the shape of a small orange, and began to toss it up and catch it again. A brave young samurai who was standing near caught the jewel as she threw it up into the air and put it into his bosom. “You have done a terrible thing” said the fox-possessed woman. “Give it back to me at once.”But the young man paid no attention to her demand. The woman, with tears in her eyes, said “Though you have taken this jewel, you do not know its use, so it is no good to you. To me it is an irreparable loss not to have it. If you do not return it to me I’ll be your enemy for ever; but if you return it I’ll protect you as a patron deity.” The samurai said “Are you sure that you are not telling me a lie?” The woman replied, “I swear that I am not telling you a lie but what I say is absolutely true.” The samurai asked “Do you swear by the gods that you will keep your promise, if I return you th jewel?” To which she answered “I indeed swear by the gods.” Then the samurai returned the jewel to her. The woman received it with every mark of gratitude. Shortly afterwards, an exorcist drove the fox out of the woman, after which they looked in her bosom for the jewel, but it was not to be found. Evidenly the fox had taken it with him. One evening this same young samurai was returning from a trip to the village of Uzuhata. As he drew near to his home he felt a premonition of danger and accordingly he bethought him of the fox’s promise. He then called the fox to come to his aid. The animal appeared and, walking stealthily ahead guided him along a different road from the one he would have taken. Looking down on the main road he saw a group of armed robbers who doubtless would have killed him, were it not for the guidance of the fox. After passing the dangerous spot the fox guidd him to the main road again and disappeared. The young samurai reached his home in safety and was very grateful to the fox. There were many other times when the guardian fox assisted the young man.

We see here not only the notion of a fox returning a good deed, depicting the fox in a good light, but again receive a little insight into the folk beliefs regarding foxes. In this instant, the tale tells of the jewel that was believed to be the soul of the fox, thus a highly-prized possession.

Finally, the story of Tamamo-no-mae, a famous Japanese tale, shows elements of Japanese, Chinese, and even Indian influence:

There is a king called Pan-Tsu in the remote western region of ancient India. His consort named Hua-yang, is, in reality, a white fox with nine tails. She is wicked and cruel by nature. She takes pleasure in seeing a thousand innocent people killed.
Later she flees to China when her true colours are disclosed. In China, calling herself Pao-ssu, she joins the harem of Yu, a king of the Zhou dynasty.
She finally becomes the queen still heartless and cruel. She rarely smiles unless she sees some cruel deed done. The king wants to see her smile, and therefore he does everything cruel to please her. The king and his kingdom cease to exist because of Pau-ssu, the nine-tailed fox.
After her death, Pao-ssu is born in Japan in the 12th century. It is the reign of the 76th Emperor Konoye..

The theme of the fox bringing down Chinese dynasties is a popular one in Chinese fox lore, and is one of many that continued into Japanese fox lore.

In this chapter, I have highlighted just a few of the folktales that have come from China and Japan, in order to highlight the predominant themes in the tales, and by extension, thoughts of the Japanese and Chinese people regarding the fox. Though we find examples of folktales from all categories in Japan and China, those of Japan generally tend to be more balanced, with as many positive tales as there are negative; a reflection of the fox’s division in Japan into the divine messenger of Inari, and the feared spirit fox of folk practices.

The significance of the Chinese tales being predominantly of bad foxes is not clear, partly due to the questionable sources of the tales. If the source is the peasantry themselves, then it is possible that the fox as a demon is the general view, and the cult of the four sacred animals is not widespread. However, as much in the folklore of the region owes its origin to the literate classes, it seems more likely that here is where the fox’s overwhelmingly negative image stems from, perhaps looked down upon as mere superstition when there were clearly more civilised alternatives.