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| + | '''Kitsunetsuki''' literally means the state of being possessed by a fox. The fox was believed to enter the body of victim, typically a young woman, beneath her fingernails or through her breasts. In some cases, the victim's facial expressions were said to change in such a way that they resembled foxes. |
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| − | '''Kitsunetsuki''' is one of many abilities a [[kitsune]] has. |
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| − | ''Kitsunetsuki'' (狐憑き or 狐付き; also written ''kitsune-tsuki'') literally means ''the state of being possessed by a fox''. The victim is always 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. Japanese tradition holds that fox possession can cause illiterate victims to temporarily gain the ability to read.Though foxes in folklore can possess a person of their own will, ''Kitsunetsuki'' is often attributed to the malign intents of hereditary fox employers, or ''tsukimono-suji''. |
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| − | Folklorist Lafcadio Hearn describes the condition in the first volume of his ''Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan'': |
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| − | Strange is the madness of those into whom demon foxes enter. Sometimes they run naked shouting through the streets. Sometimes they lie down and froth at the mouth, and yelp as a fox yelps. And on some part of the body of the possessed a moving lump appears under the skin, which seems to have a life of its own. Prick it with a needle, and it glides instantly to another place. By no grasp can it be so tightly compressed by a strong hand that it will not slip from under the fingers. Possessed folk are also said to speak and write languages of which they were totally ignorant prior to possession. They eat only what foxes are believed to like — tofu, ''aburagé'', ''azukimeshi'', etc. — and they eat a great deal, alleging that not they, but the possessing foxes, are hungry. |
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| − | He goes on to note that, once freed from the possession, the victim will never again be able to eat tofu, ''azukimeshi'', or other foods favored by foxes. |
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==Novels== |
==Novels== |
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| − | In |
+ | In [[The Return: Nightfall]], the young girls of the town are acting strangely, referring to a [[kitsune]] possessing them. |
| + | ==See also== |
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| − | {{Powers}} |
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| + | {{Powers and Weaknesses}} |
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[[Category:Powers]] |
[[Category:Powers]] |
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| + | [[Category:Kitsune]] |
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Revision as of 03:42, 22 January 2014
Kitsunetsuki literally means the state of being possessed by a fox. The fox was believed to enter the body of victim, typically a young woman, beneath her fingernails or through her breasts. In some cases, the victim's facial expressions were said to change in such a way that they resembled foxes.
Novels
In The Return: Nightfall, the young girls of the town are acting strangely, referring to a kitsune possessing them.