Huli jing
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In several Asian cultures, including China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan, the nine-tailed fox (Chinese: 九尾狐; pinyin: Jiǔwěihú; Japanese: 九尾狐 Kyūbiko; Korean: 구미호 Kumiho; Vietnamese: 九尾狐 cửu vĩ hồ) is a creature that appears in many stories.[citation needed]
Chinese version
The nine-tailed fox is a species of creature depicted in the Nanshan jing（南山經）, Haiwaidong jing（海外東經） and Dahuangdong jing（大荒東經） of Shan Hai Jing as having the voice of a human infant. It can be eaten by humans, and those who eat it will be protected from evil.[1]
Later in history books like Book of Zhou and story collections like Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, the nine-tailed fox was depicted as a beast of fortune. Sent by the heavens, the nine-tailed fox was seen as a sign of fortune, peace and luck. In the Han dynasty, it is the protector of royal blood. However, it can also represent an omen of revolution when the Emperor is not good.
It was said to have possessed Mei Xi (Chinese: 妺喜), bewitched Jie of Xia, and caused the downfall of the Xia dynasty. This story, which appeared after the story of Daji, however, was very similar in nature to the story of Daji. Therefore, the story received criticisms stating the later writers only plagiarized earlier folklore, or that the telling of the stories was modified to discredit a different dynasty. The torture and creations of Mo Xi were very similar to those of the creations of Daji but were first used in Zhou dynasty with little historical evidence dating those back to Xia.
The nine-tailed fox appeared in the epic fantasy novel Fengshen Bang as a Yaojing, or spirit, controlled by the deity Nüwa and was ordered to bewitch King Zhou of Shang in the 11th century BC. The fox possessed the body of Daji and did her bidding. Daji was eventually killed by Jiang Ziya and the fox was condemned by Nüwa due to the fox's cruelty and disobeying its original order of bewitch King Zhou but do not harm others towards the end of Fengshen Bang.
In later stories, a nine-tailed fox was blamed for possessing Baosi like Daji and caused the downfall of Western Zhou, forcing the dynasty moving its capital and establish the Eastern Zhou period.
It was then believed they were giving bad luck in other words, it was a harmful creature.
Japanese version
Stories of Tamamo-no-Mae were written and collected in the Otogizōshi of the Muromachi period, and were also mentioned by Toriyama Sekien in Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. Tamamo-no-Mae was a courtesan under the Japanese Emperor Konoe. She was said to be a most beautiful and intelligent woman. She caused the Emperor to be extremely ill and was chased away by Abe no Yasuchika, who had been called to diagnose the cause of the Emperor's poor health. Abe no Yasuchika discovered the true nature of Tamamo-no-mae. A few years later, in the area of Nasu, the nine-tailed fox was seen killing and eating women and travelers. Emperor Konoe thus sent Kazusa-no-suke and Miura-no-suke along with 80,000 troops to kill the fox. In the plains of Nasu, it was finally killed and became a stone called the sesshoseki. The stone continually released poisonous gas, killing everything that touched it. The stone was said to have been destroyed in the Nanboku-chō period by Gennoh Shinshou, and the pieces flew away to different parts of Japan.
Hokusai's depiction
In the story told by Hokusai, formed in the Edo period, the nine-tail fox which possessed Daji was not killed, but instead fled to Magadha of Tianzhu (ancient India). There, it became the concubine of a prince, causing him to cut off the heads of 1000 men. It was then defeated again, and fled the country.
Around 780 BC, the same fox was said to have possessed Baosi (the concubine) and again chased away by human military forces.
The fox stayed quiet for some period. In AD 753, the fox took the form of a 16-year-old girl named Wakamo, who fooled Kibi Makibi, Abe no Nakamaro, and Jianzhen; and boarded the ship of the 10th mission to Tang China when it was about to return to Japan.
In 1113, Sakabe Yukitsuna (坂部行綱), a samurai with no family, picked up an abandoned baby girl Mizukume (藻女, girl of algae) which was actually the nine-tailed fox transformed, and raised her for 17 years. At the age of 18 she changed her name to Tamamo-no-Mae, entered the palace, and bewitched Emperor Konoe (see above).
Korean version
In Korean culture the nine-tailed fox (called kumiho) originates from the ancient Chinese myths and therefore shares many similarities to the Chinese huli jing and the Japanese kitsune. However, the tales of the malicious, flesh-eating foxes(in order to be a real person) are more common for the Korean counterpart, although there are a few tales telling of kindly kumiho. A fox that lives for one thousand years can become a kumiho, and it often takes the form of a beautiful young woman to seduce men in order to eat their flesh: usually the liver, although the heart is also a target at times. Most tales say that under certain circumstances a kumiho can become human, and the circumstances can vary from eating 1000 (or 100) men's liver or heart to just living with a man 1000 (or 100) days (during the period kumiho must hide its real identity from the man). Often, the kumiho has a special bead. kumiho gives a bead to a man and receives the bead by each other's tongue (It is similar to a deep kiss). By this way, it takes the vital force of that man. At times, the man is seduced and dopey. But if he does swallow the bead and look at the sky (or person and ground), he can get a special ability.
In popular culture
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In the Pokémon franchise, Ninetales is a Pokémon which takes the appearance of a fox with sleek, cream-coloured fur and nine tails.[2]
In the manga and anime franchise Naruto, the nine-tailed fox is one of tailed beasts which play an important role in the series' overall plot. The nine-tailed fox is sealed inside the main character Naruto.
In the manga and anime franchise Omamori Himari, Tamamo-no-mae, the ancient nine-tailed fox, is the primary antagonist.
In Ga-rei, the "spirit devourer" Byakuei is a derivation from the Nine-Tailed Fox's power, housing a sesshouseki inside it. In the second story arc, Kagura, the protagonist who can summon Byakuei, uses the sesshouseki to gain the power to save Kensuke's life, but at the cost of becoming the core of the resurrected Nine-Tailed Fox.
In the multiplayer online battle arena video game, League of Legends, the playable champion Ahri is an anthropomorphic magical nine-tailed fox, in Kemonomimi form.
In the Anime XXXholic, Watanukis (pipe fox), in its full form, is a nine-tailed fox.
In South Korean romantic comedy series, My girlfriend is a gumiho, where the legendary fox is accidentally released from a painting.
In the game SCP - Containment Breach, the MTF guards are referred to as Nine-Tailed fox.
In the anime Inu X Boku Secret Service, the series focuses on how several families have ancient ties to spiritual beings. The character Miketsukami transforms into a man with fox ears and nine tails. He is often referred to as the "nine-tailed fox".
In the game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies a nine tailed fox is featured as a legendary creature that according to a village's legend, sealed away a Yokai in the village's Forbidden Chamber. A wrestler called "The Amazing Nine Tails", who wears a cape made to look like 9 fox tails, is also featured.
In the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Keatons are a race based on the nine-tailed fox, except they possess three tails.
Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novel 9tail Fox has Jinwei Hu as a central part of the premise.
In the game Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate, the nine-tailed fox is the true form of the game's main antagonist, Tamamo-no-Mae. Her form is revealed after she is reflected through her own sacred mirror.
In the game Rune Factory 4, the guardians of Leon Karnak are a pair of nine-tailed fox statues named Sano and Uno.
In the anime Kanokon, when the two characters combine they become a nine-tailed fox.
In the game Touhou Youyoumu: Perfect Cherry Blossom, the extra stage and phantasm stage boss is a nine-tailed fox named Ran Yakumo.
In the game Okami, Ninetails is the fifth boss you will meet in the game.
In the MMORPG Perfect World, the Ninetail fox is a mount players can ride and comes in a variety of colors, although the actual mount has only 3 tails. It is also a vanity pet available for all players in some versions of the game. They can also be tamed in Perfect World by Venomancers, a werefox race later in the game. as high level pets.
In the Manga Blue Exorcist the Nine-tailed fox that haunts killing stone, possesses the mother of one of the main cast.
In the MMORPG Aura Kingdom, the Eidolon Kotonoha is a Nine-tailed fox in a human form (and thus her tails are invisible), as such she is said to wield powerful magic.
References
- ^ 『山海經』南山經, 又東三百里，曰青丘之山，其陽多玉，其陰多青䨼。有獸焉，其狀如狐而九尾，其音如嬰兒，能食人；食者不蠱。wikisource
- ^ http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Ninetails#Pok.C3.A9dex_entries_2
See also
External links
- Nine-tailed fox stories at Aozora Bunko