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More from Strega
Just something I doodled at the Prancing Skiltaire last month after I saw a pic of a 20 tailed kitsune here on FA. Naturally this sparked a lively discussion in the comments about powergamers, but the supposed explanation was that the fur merely thought it looked cool and didn't know about the "more tails= more power" thing and Inari.
It occurred to me that the logical conclusion of the "more tails" thing was a kitsune that was nothing BUT tails. Well, with maybe an ear or two poking out. 83
It occurred to me that the logical conclusion of the "more tails" thing was a kitsune that was nothing BUT tails. Well, with maybe an ear or two poking out. 83
Category Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Vulpine (Other)
Size 1200 x 935px
File Size 133 kB
Actually it's a common misconception about the tails. In [EVERY] Kitsune Lore book and even Japanese Mythology. A Kitsune can attain a maximum of 9 tails at which point the next stage of enlightenment is a change in Fur color to Either Silver or Gold. Only Two Kitsune have EVER attained the fur color shift. Inari the Great Golden Goddess and Amaterasu the Silver star and the Council of Nine's Founder.
There are two ways to kill a Kitsune, cutting off their head (Nearly impossible once they reach the fifth stage of enlightenment, or five tails), or severing ALL of their tails at the very root... also nearly impossible due to the tail rings many Kitsune wear around their tail bases.
The more tails a Kitsune has, shows one of two things:
1. They grow one tail for every 100 years of life
OR
2. They pass a Stage of Enlightenment which is a Trail passed down by the Council of Nine.
The council of Nine is just as it sounds, Nine Nine-tailed Kitsune that form the Council and have complete control over the laws and rules of Kitsune, only Inari is above them, since she Killed Ama during a great war where Ama thought SHE should be the Great Goddess and many Kitsune believed her to be one.
Heh, hope it's not an information over load, not trying to debate or nothing, but this is all Japanese Lore, direct from the Book of Mythos. =^^=
~ Allester E. Darkflame
There are two ways to kill a Kitsune, cutting off their head (Nearly impossible once they reach the fifth stage of enlightenment, or five tails), or severing ALL of their tails at the very root... also nearly impossible due to the tail rings many Kitsune wear around their tail bases.
The more tails a Kitsune has, shows one of two things:
1. They grow one tail for every 100 years of life
OR
2. They pass a Stage of Enlightenment which is a Trail passed down by the Council of Nine.
The council of Nine is just as it sounds, Nine Nine-tailed Kitsune that form the Council and have complete control over the laws and rules of Kitsune, only Inari is above them, since she Killed Ama during a great war where Ama thought SHE should be the Great Goddess and many Kitsune believed her to be one.
Heh, hope it's not an information over load, not trying to debate or nothing, but this is all Japanese Lore, direct from the Book of Mythos. =^^=
~ Allester E. Darkflame
See, every Direct Lore I've ever read has been different. Most Sources I've read list Inari as being a hybrid of two different gods (And thus hermaphroditic) being the god of Merchants, Rice (Taken to a modern context, fast food.) , Swordcraft, and Foxes.
Also, I had forgotten Amaterasu's name. I've featured her in a story, but I managed to get around giving her a name. X3
Also, I had forgotten Amaterasu's name. I've featured her in a story, but I managed to get around giving her a name. X3
Yes, Inari was the goddess of those things as well and a Herm, but in Lore SHI refers to 'hirself' in a female manner, including the requirement of worshipers to refer to her as 'Lady Inari'. As for the "Hybrid" bit, this is both true and false. Ina and Ria were mortals the ascended to god hood, but their powers were exactly the same and by "Diety laws" only one God can hold a power, so it was either fight to the death or merge together, being Brother and Sister twins they couldn't kill each other and chose to merge, Becoming "Inari" and taking on a sort of "Human" and "Fox" blended body with both male and female parts.
They had the ability to shift between Fox and human form or remain in the mixed shape. While Fox Inari was fully female, Human male, and blended was herm. Japanese Lore/Myth is really truely fucked up, but VERY fun to read =^^=
~ Allester E. Darkflame
They had the ability to shift between Fox and human form or remain in the mixed shape. While Fox Inari was fully female, Human male, and blended was herm. Japanese Lore/Myth is really truely fucked up, but VERY fun to read =^^=
~ Allester E. Darkflame
Which version did you read? The origin I read was that the God of Merchants and Swordplay was married to the Goddess of Rice and Foxes. But she was killed so he took all of her power into himself and became the blended form of both genders with all the deific atributes.
But as I said to Strega, the problem with such folklore is that there is little to no standarized canon.
But as I said to Strega, the problem with such folklore is that there is little to no standarized canon.
I don't remember the books full title, but it's a Book of Japanese Mythos writen by Tadakatsu Toshio... not sure if I spelled that right. But like I said, Japanese mytho is fucked up and fun to read, and like you said, it's hard to tell what is full truth since there's no proof of anything at all when it comes to Myth and Legend. >.<
~ Allester E. Darkflame
~ Allester E. Darkflame
Well, the closest you can get to 'canon' is to study the Shinto traditions and come to understand their view of the spirit world, then to look up classical kitsune legends (and by 'classical', I mean 'over a hundred years old'). I find the best stories are the ones that you can trace back before the Meiji Restoration, since they're the ones with the least outsider influence. :) That's just the purist in me though -- I don't discount more modern stories, but I accept them more as 'modern stories' and less as 'legends'. They're more inclined to redefine what things are, than to work within what has come before.
This isn't a bad thing, mind you -- storytelling is good, but it depends on if you're interested in the stories, or the religion. I'm more a student of the religious aspect of kitsune -- how they exist as part of the Shinto faith, as part of the worship and reverence of the kami, and how that is a part of the animistic traditions of Japan. To me, kitsune aren't 'magical foxes' -- they're small gods, and are part and parcel of the Shinto faith.
Or, to put it another way -- I look at kitsune the same way a devout Christian may look at angels. Sure, you can write a story about angels, but how you portray them in a story may veer pretty far from what an angel actually is, and shouldn't be taken as 'canon'.
This isn't a bad thing, mind you -- storytelling is good, but it depends on if you're interested in the stories, or the religion. I'm more a student of the religious aspect of kitsune -- how they exist as part of the Shinto faith, as part of the worship and reverence of the kami, and how that is a part of the animistic traditions of Japan. To me, kitsune aren't 'magical foxes' -- they're small gods, and are part and parcel of the Shinto faith.
Or, to put it another way -- I look at kitsune the same way a devout Christian may look at angels. Sure, you can write a story about angels, but how you portray them in a story may veer pretty far from what an angel actually is, and shouldn't be taken as 'canon'.
Oh, there have been kitsune tricksters in the past, but there was usually a point to it -- they were teaching a lesson of humility, for example, to someone who sorely needed it. And they could be downright evil in the classic Chinese legends. No, I would say the modern storytelling convention is more the humanizing of them, making them more 'mundane' and less a spirit and servant of a higher purpose or something to be used as a stern lesson.
And I agree, stories can and do change over time, and this is a good thing, because it often makes the story relevant to the modern times as well. But I'm more interested in the classic stories than the modern stories, because I'm looking at this from a religious and cultural viewpoint. It really depends on what you wish to gain from the story.
Take for example, the classic Grimm faerie tales. They're horrible things with nearly no happy endings in them -- but then, they were used to warn people of the dangers of that time period. If you read those to children these days, you'd have the Children's Protection Agency knocking on your door with a few pointed questions to ask you. If you look at the same fairy tales now, told as they are these days, they're very watered down... and the lessons they teach tend to be very different, adapted to the modern time. (Or, as my wife and I put it... rendered 'harmless')
Should we tell children the classic stories? Ehhh, probably not. But should we be culturally aware of them, and their significance, and what they were? I think so. That's what I am interested in, and what I tend to study -- because I am interested in the culture, and the 'signposts' we see in legends, myths, and religious stories for those time periods.
Of course, different people, different mileage.
And I agree, stories can and do change over time, and this is a good thing, because it often makes the story relevant to the modern times as well. But I'm more interested in the classic stories than the modern stories, because I'm looking at this from a religious and cultural viewpoint. It really depends on what you wish to gain from the story.
Take for example, the classic Grimm faerie tales. They're horrible things with nearly no happy endings in them -- but then, they were used to warn people of the dangers of that time period. If you read those to children these days, you'd have the Children's Protection Agency knocking on your door with a few pointed questions to ask you. If you look at the same fairy tales now, told as they are these days, they're very watered down... and the lessons they teach tend to be very different, adapted to the modern time. (Or, as my wife and I put it... rendered 'harmless')
Should we tell children the classic stories? Ehhh, probably not. But should we be culturally aware of them, and their significance, and what they were? I think so. That's what I am interested in, and what I tend to study -- because I am interested in the culture, and the 'signposts' we see in legends, myths, and religious stories for those time periods.
Of course, different people, different mileage.
Amaterasu Omikami isn't a kitsune, she's the head of the pantheon of the Court of Heaven, where did you get the idea she was a kitsune? As for O-Inari, O-Inari is the Fortune of Rice and Foxes, and has been depicted as male and female -- he/she is also associated with Uke Mochi -- the goddess of food who was 'slain' by Tsukiyomi Okami, who was offended by her chosen method of procuring food. Strangely, I guess she survived being killed by Tsukiyomi, since, you know, the whole 'hi, I'm O-Inari' thing.
The most famous of the nine-tailed foxes would be Tamamo-no-Mae, the Jewel Maiden, who has a rather long play written about her. She's a golden nine-tailed fox who ascends with the help of a Buddhist monk.
As for your other notes:
1) I have heard the 'add a tail every 100 years' thing.
2) I have never heard of the Council of Nine related to the Court of Heaven.
Which book was this from?
The most famous of the nine-tailed foxes would be Tamamo-no-Mae, the Jewel Maiden, who has a rather long play written about her. She's a golden nine-tailed fox who ascends with the help of a Buddhist monk.
As for your other notes:
1) I have heard the 'add a tail every 100 years' thing.
2) I have never heard of the Council of Nine related to the Court of Heaven.
Which book was this from?
Ah, see, I don't follow this as a 'myth' or 'legend' thing, but respect it as a religion -- which means I take the culture and lore very seriously. I do make a separation between 'stories' however, and the actual religion itself. That's why I wrote 'Foxtrot's Guide to Kitsune Lore', and I'm about to release a kitsune-themed RPG. (I just put one of the art pieces up at my account here, and put up more over in my LJ...)
I had heard from other furs that Inari has ten tails, but I haven't delved into the mythology myself. I ran into a nutjob at AC once who kept going on about how he was a ten tailed kitsune. Otherkin are weird most of the time and he was especially weird. My eye rolling didn't chase him off (he was haranging Cougar), and eventually we just had to back away slowly.
In fact, it depends greatly on region and time period. 神道 is not a centrally run religion (Excepting a short time period from the 明治時代 to the end of the Second World War), and has meshed and borrowed elements of Buddhism and Taoism. As a result, the ultimate answer to all debates about foxes is that nobody really knows for sure except the foxes. And they aren't about to go explaining their secrets to people any time soon. ;)
We missed dinner at Buco de Beppo thanks to his ramblings.
As far as I'm concerned, he was power tripping. Most original legends had kitsune as fox spirits with the standard one tail, who could pass themselves off as human. The multi-tailed thing was introduced later in works of fiction and caught on in popular culture.
As far as I'm concerned, he was power tripping. Most original legends had kitsune as fox spirits with the standard one tail, who could pass themselves off as human. The multi-tailed thing was introduced later in works of fiction and caught on in popular culture.
The things you dream up seeing this! Like, when this thing has to do a #2, you'd best clear the area unless you like wearing foxpoo! Silent but deadly takes on a whole new meaning here. Tail-whip injuries would be impossible to avoid in it's presence. If there's that many tails, a whole room of furs would have fun for the night.. an the poor kitsune would be.. er.. rolling funny for weeks? It's wisdom is perfectly safe, seeing as it can't talk, no mouth! You wonder what'd happen if there was some way for a creature as insane as this to -breed-.. make the partner the right snake an you get hydra on overdrive or somethin!
Hilarious piece by the way Strega! Thank you so much for making this up. :}
Hilarious piece by the way Strega! Thank you so much for making this up. :}
I don't see the point myself. Each tail has a skeletal structure, muscle, veins and so on. Unless they are long and prehensile (which has other issues) there's no reason to have more than one unless they are merely ornamental, and many reasons NOT to have more than one.
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