Fox Possession in Japan

Source: The Journal of American Folklore , Jul. - Sep., 1900, Vol. 13, No. 50 (Jul. - Sep.,
1900), pp. 222-225
Published by: American Folklore Society

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222 yournal of American Folk-Lore.

FOLK-LORE SCRAP-BOOK.

Fox POSSESSION IN JAPAN. - The " Japan Evangelist," May, 9

nishes a curious account of a case of this disease, taken by the
the occurrences, Miss Harriet M. Browne, to be a case of act
acal possession. The patient, Nishiyama Tsugi, fifteen yea
adopted in infancy by a man and his wife named Nishiyama
of nine years she ran away from home, desiring something m
than the lonely,country; after a year she returned, only to ste
more take her flight; after this, according to her own acco
servant and nurse girl in a prostitute house, and, leaving this,
life of the lowest beggars, sleeping in the mountains, in grave
beggars' huts, a companion of thieves and pickpockets as well a
and associating herself with a young man in the commission of
She then came to the orphanage, from which she had been
popular belief that the blood of the children was taken from t
alive, and here manifested tokens of epilepsy and dangerou
sequel may be told in the words of Miss Browne:--
" We found that she greatly feared the well god and the rice
and his messengers, the foxes. She told us that, the first ye
ran away, a kind landlady told her that she had inquired of th
temple to tell her what was the matter with O Tsugi, and that
that O Tsugi's mother's spirit had possessed her child becau
woman she was with had treated her cruelly.
" On the afternoon of the fifth of January she had a much
than before. We tried to bind her, but could not, as she s
strength, and it took several to manage her. She would not pay
attention to what was going on around her, nor could she be r
would she turn her face toward any one. During the two form
she had acted in dumb pantomime, but during this one she
santly. At first the words and actions were those of an infant
to walk. Then after a time she changed and said, as if it were a
son addressing herself, 'Your father has come on an errand
mother;' and she replied angrily, 'What do I want with my fat
other abusive words. Then, changing again, after further t
personating the patron god of Chofu, 'You stole offerings from
did! I saw you steal food from Inari in Bakan, and I kept st
you have come to Chofu and stolen three eggs that were offer
You return them at once, I tell you ! ' ' I have n't any eggs
give me.' 'Return them, I tell you, or I will do something
you.' 'Well, forgive me, and I will work hard and replace th
that you present them as offerings. Just bringing them to me
swer. If you don't, I '11 pinch you,' suiting the (invisible) ac
words; at which she cried out, ' Aa itai / [O, it hurts !] Do
I '11 replace them.' 'Well, I '11 forgive you if you make me the
but if you don't, I '11 pinch you well.' Saying this, she fell as b

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 Folk-Lore Scrap-Book. 223
waked as usual in a few minutes. During this attack also, as soon
members of the household recovered from the fright, and collected
thoughts to kneel and pray, she soon became quiet, and the demo
her. It may sound only amusing written down; but I assure you
the evil face and actions, and hear the evil spirits as they in turn
human being to say and do what they will, the face and voice ch
with the speaker--to have indisputable, visible, and audible evidence b
one that demons are in one's house, tormenting and using at their w
of us, who but a half hour ago was laughing and talking with the res
fearful experience that is apt to shake even pretty strong nerves.
"The next attack was on the evening of the eighth, when sudd
while happily engaged with knitting, she began laughing a fearful la
and her features changed, becoming distorted into a resemblance to
She called out and beckoned as to some one at a distance with gr
light, saying, 'Oh, come I'm so glad you've come!' 'Yes, I've
breathlessly, as if she had been running; and then the evil spirits wh
sonated foxes had a fine time together, laughing and talking and
One said: 'I know where there are some nice offerings in Bakan, eggs
fish and rice. Let's go and get them,' and off they went appare
' Don't talk so loud; they '11 hear us.' 'Oh, here they are. Put th
your sleeve.' 'We must cook them. You go and buy some oshitaj
and I '11 make the fire. Put bn your hat and go through the grav
and hide it under your hat.' ' How well it burns! Now it's boiling
you 've come back, and now it will soon be done.' 'Yes, oh how g
tastes ! How jolly this is!' . . . 'Well, let's go home and we '11
again.' Saying which, she bounded out of the room as if about to
the house. We brought her back to the dark room, and then she
possessed by a demon personating her dead mother's spirit. First she
several times ' Gomen nasaiI' as if a visitor at the door; then, 'I a
mother of the girl you call 0 Kane. Her name is 0 Tsugi. I have
xoo ri from Amakusa. She was treated so badly that I entered in
and went with her to Kumamoto and to Hiroshima and back aga
now she is so well cared for here I will leave never to possess her
But you must give me an offering of a bunch of rice-balls - enough
for three days on the journey back. It will take a good many, for
many maidservants (koshimoto) for whom I find it hard to provide
Then you must put them in a bundle on my back. It will not do
give them to me.' No one replying to her repeated request, she a
exclaimed: 'The master of this house is deaf in his ears; he won't
I tell you I shall not leave unless you give me a rice-ball. Do you
If you do that, I will leave never to come again.' The girl could hardl
hungry, for she had just eaten a hearty supper. It must have been a
hour that she kept repeating this demand, at last pounding the floor
shouting it out in a voice that we heard clear out on the street. A
time I returned from prayer meeting. God had been preparing my h
for months, showing me the personality and presence of evil spirits
us and impressing deeply on my mind his promise to his disciple

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224 yournal of American Folk-Lore.
He has given us authority over all the power of Satan. In the strength of
this I spoke to the evil spirits in his name. We had been unable to quiet
her before, but she listened while I said: 'This house and all in it belongs
to our God Jehovah. We will never give so much as one rice grain to such
as you. Go and get offerings from those who worship you.' I commanded
the evil spirits in the name of Jesus to come out of her and never come
again."
The demon was exorcised by prayer, and by reading appropriate pas-
sages from the New Testament, namely Markix. I4-29, Matthew xvii. 14-
20, Mark v. I-20, and after struggles, in which the patient exhibited intense
fear, she recovered, and proved herself in the future an obedient pupil.
In noticing this case, the editor of the "Japan Evangelist " cites from
the "Japan Mail" the notice of a series of articles by Mr. Haga Yaichi,
now appearing in the " Teikoku Bungaku."
" A series of articles on ' The Fox in Japanese Literature' is appearing
in the 'Teikoku Bungaku.' The writer is Mr. Haga Yaichi. The general
conclusion which Mr. Haga reaches is that in the main the qualities attrib-
uted to this animal, and the symbolic expressions which Reynard has
given to literature are the same in the East and the West. Mr. Haga gives
a large number of examples, a few of which we quote: Just as in English
the fox is used as a symbol of craft in 'foxy, fox-like, foxish, and foxiness,'
etc., so we have Kbgi, suspicion, lit., to suspect like a fox. A lattice door,
because in Japan things are often hidden behind it, is called Kitsune-do.
An arrow that glances off into the air without striking the object aimed at
is called Kitsune-ya. False fires are called Kitsune-bi in Japan and 'fox-
fires' with us. Weather that is made up half of sunshine and half of rain
is called in Japan Kitsune-no yome-iri (a fox's wedding) and 'fox-weather'
in England. The word is used to describe certain plants in both England
and Japan. There is in Japan the Kitsune-bana, the Kitsune-mame, the
Kitsune-azami, the Kitsune no chabukuro, and others, as there is in English
the 'fox-glove, the fox-grape, the fox-tail,' and so on. AEsop's fable about
the fox deceiving the lion has its counterpart in the Japanese tale (borrowed
from China) about the fox that made use of the tiger in the same way.
Hence the Japanese expression Tora no i wo karu kitsune. Where the
East differs from the West is in the wonderful transformations that are
ascribed to the fox in China and Japan and the power to bewitch people
said to be possessed by it. As far as my knowledge goes, says Mr. Haga,
there is no instance in Western literature of foxes transforming themselves
into human shape for the sake of obtaining human offspring. But this
practice has constantly been resorted to by our Japanese foxes according
to certain authorities. Mr. Haga is of opinion that most of Japan's fox-
lore is borrowed from China. In that country, however, Mr. Haga ob-
serves, the fox is by no means exclusively used as a symbol of various types
of wickedness. It is often spoken of in terms of praise, and a very high
destiny is assigned to it. After fifty years it is said to transform itself into
a woman and to beget children; at the age of a hundred it assumes the
form of a very beautiful woman, or becomes a man, according to fancy. It

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 Notes and Queries. 225

is
issaid
said
to have
to have
great foresight
great and
foresight
in all matters
andto be
infar
all
more
matters
knowing to be far m
than
than man.
man.
At theAt
age the
of 1ooo
ageit isof
transformed
1ooo it into
is transformed
a god. Mr. Haga into a
explains
explainsthat that
in veryinancient
very Japanese
ancient
literature,
Japanesethough there
literature,
is mention though th
of
ofalmost
almosteveryevery
conceivable
conceivable
kind of transformation,
kind ofthere transformation,
is no instance of there
aafox
foxbeing
being
described
described
as transforming
as transforming
itself into a human itself
being with into
a dis-
a human b
tinctly
tinctlysexual
sexual
object in
object
view in in
the view
way thatin it the
is habitually
way that said to do
it in
is habitually
China.
China. ThisThis
abomination
abomination
of literatureof
ancient
literature
Japan was free
ancient
from, ac-
Japan was
cording
cording to Mr.
toHaga.
Mr.But Haga.
in laterBut
days in
these
later
revolting
daystransformations
these revolting tr
are
are constantly
constantly
said to have
saidtaken
to have
place in taken
Japan, and
place
all thein
supernatural
Japan, and all the
powers
powers attributed
attributed
to the animal
to the
in China
animal
were ascribed
in China
to it here.
were Reli-ascribed
gious
gious teachers
teachers
helped to
helped
perpetuate
tothe
perpetuate
superstitious awe
thefelt
superstitious
for the animal, awe felt
and
and often
often
represented
represented
themselves as
themselves
possessing power
as topossessing
counteract its power to
influence.
influence.Serious
Serious
incurable incurable
diseases are often
diseases
called Kitsu-ne-tsukiyamai,
are often called Kitsu-n
originating
originatingwith the
with
storythe
of a fox
storywhoseof
spirit
a fox
entered
whose
the body
spirit
of the entered
man the
that
that hadhad
killedkilled
it, and caused
it, and
the man
caused
to contract
the aman
mortalto
disease.
contract
Mr. a mor
Haga
Haga hashas
collected
collected
a very large
a very
amountlarge
of material
amount
bearing of
on the
material
subject, bearing
and
and hishis
essayessay
is well is
worthy
wellof worthy
being published
of being
in pamphlet
published
form." in pamphlet

NOTES AND QUERIES.

THE CELESTIAL BEAR. - Since the publication in the preceding number

of this Journal (p. 92) of the paper thus entitled, the author's attention has
been drawn to Mrs. Zelia Nuttall's valuable paper on American Astro-
nomy, in which is suggested an origin of the svastika in the circular motion
and four seasonal positions of the stars of this asterism. If I rightly
remember, the same suggestion has been made as to the source of the
svastika in the eastern continent by Hewitt, in his "Ruling Prehistoric
Races of Asia." When we recall that many authorities regard the svastika
as a symbol of celestial motion or revolution, the suggestion becomes at
least worthy of careful consideration. It is neither difficult nor unjustifiable
to consider, for example, the probability that the elements of the primitive
Bear legend would, when conventionalized in art, give rise to such a figure.
The fact that the svastika has not been found among the less advanced
Indian tribes of the north is of little account as an objection, when bal-
anced against the use of the symbol by the Pueblos and other tribes who
were acquainted with a form of the Bear legend. Nor does Dr. Brinton's
objection as to the svastika as a symbol of revolution - that it presupposes
the knowledge of the wheel- hold good against this conspicuous and
easily observed revolution of the celestial Bear, which we find has played
a part so important in myth and legend.
Stansbury Hagar.

MAP EXHIBITING THE STARS OF THE CELESTIAL BEAR (p. 92).- In con-
sulting this map should be taken into consideration the following remarks,
intended by the author to appear on the map, and omitted through mis-
apprehension: -
VOL. XIV. -NO. 50. I5

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