What is a tanuki (the creature which also attacked that same village in “The Wrath of the Tangled Skein” (UY Vol 3, #3 and UY Book 10)?
(WWW Board May 2000) Tanuki apparently frequently shape-changes into priests. In the same Yoshitoshi book is a priest with a tanuki head and the story of the tanuki who changes into a teapot in the buddhist temple. (UY Vol 3, #34) The tanuki is actually a dog (canis viverrinus). It has a furry body, a long fuzzy tail, and dark areas around the eyes that make it resemble a raccoon. It, like the kitsun (fox), is a shape-changing trickster. In one story, a priest at Morinji Temple was about to hang a teakettle over the fire when it suddenly sprouted a head, tail, and feet. The furry teakettle scampered around the room as more priests rushed in and captured it. The tanuki decided to stay in the temple, sometimes transforming itself into a priest. Not all tanuki stories end so pleasantly. In another story, a tanuki kills a farmer’s wife and tricks her husband into eating her. A friendly rabbit eventually avenges the farmers. (UY Vol 3, #3) The tanuki is a raccoon-like dog (canis viverrinus
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