Foxes in popular culture


The fox appears in the folklore of many cultures, but especially European and East Asian, as a figure of cunning, trickery, or as a familiar animal possessed of magic powers, and sometimes associated with transformation. Literature, film, television, games, music, and other forms of cultural expression may reflect the folklore image and reputation.
The term "foxy" in English can also connote attractiveness, sexiness, or being red-haired. The term "to outfox" means "to beat in a competition of wits", similarly to "outguess", "outsmart", and "outwit".

In folklore and wisdom

Africa

In Dogon mythology, the fox is reported to be either the trickster god of the desert, who embodies chaos or a messenger for the gods.
There is a Tswana riddle that says that "Phokoje go tsela o dithetsenya meaning that, in a philosophical sense, 'only an active person who does not mind getting muddy gets to progress in life.'

Europe

Kuma Lisa is a female fox from Bulgarian folklore and Russian folklore who usually plays the role of the trickster. Kuma Lisa is encountered with another character known as Kumcho Vulcho – a wolf which is opposite to her and very often suffers from her tricks. Veronika Makarova writes that in Western European folklore, words relating to foxes, such as French "renard", have a masculine grammatical gender, which is why Western European foxes are usually depicted as male foxes, but the word лисa in Russian has a feminine grammatical gender, which is why nearly all depictions of foxes in Russian folklore are female.
In Scotland, the trickster figure of the fox was represented as Lowrence, as in the Morall Fabillis of Robert Henryson.
In Finnish mythology, the fox is usually depicted as a cunning trickster, but seldom evil. The fox, while weaker, in the end outsmarts both the evil and voracious wolf and the strong but not-so-cunning bear. It symbolizes the victory of intelligence over both malevolence and brute strength. In Northern Finland, the fox is said to conjure the aurora borealis while it runs through the snowy hills. When the fox’s fur touches the snow it creates magical sparks and sets the sky ablaze. Still today, the Finnish word for the aurora is "revontulet" which literally translates to "fox-fires".
An Occitan song dating from the Middle Ages, Ai Vis lo Lop, features a wolf, a fox and a hare dancing and circling a tree. It has been suggested that the three animals represent the King, Lord and Church who were responsible for taxation.
In Europe, in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, foxes, which were associated with wiliness and fraudulent behavior, were sometimes burned as symbols of the Devil.
In the medieval cycle of Reynard the Fox, he is a trickster interacting with other anthropomorphic animals in a satire of medieval society.

Middle East

In early Mesopotamian mythology, the fox is one of the sacred animals of the goddess Ninhursag. The fox acts as her messenger.
The Bible's Song of Solomon includes a well-known verse "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom" which had been given many interpretations over the centuries by Jewish and Christian Bible commentators.
To the Jewish sage Matteya ben Heresh, of the 2nd century CE, is attributed the maxim: "Meet each man with friendly greeting; be the tail among lions rather than the head among foxes". "The head among foxes" in this context is similar to the English expression "A big fish in a small pond". "Fox fables" are attributed to Rabbi Meir and Johanan ben Zakai, and appeared in a compilation under that name by Berechiah ha-Nakdan; the term in fact refers also to fables featuring animals other than foxes.

East Asia

In Classic of Mountains and Seas, foxes eat people, and predict war.
In Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese folklores, foxes are powerful spirits that are known for their highly mischievous and cunning nature, and they often take on the form of female humans to seduce men. In contemporary Chinese, the word huli jing is often used to describe a mistress negatively in an extramarital affair. In ancient Korean tales, fox spirits are portrayed as anti-deities that threaten the deity-dragons. In Shinto of Japan, kitsune sometimes help people as an errand of their deity, Inari.

Americas

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the fox in their art. The Moche people believed the fox to be a warrior that would use his mind to fight. The fox would not ever use physical attack, only mental.
In the Uncle Remus collection of 19th-century African-American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, "[Br'er Fox (song)|Fox and Br'er Bear|Br'er Fox]" is a major character, often acting as the antagonist towards the stories' main character, "Br'er Rabbit".
Vladimir Bogoraz wrote down a creation myth he allegedly heard from the Chukchi people, in which the yellow fox attempts to deceive the Creator of the world for food, but fails, and the arctic fox is cowardly.

In language

As an epithet

The Medieval Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard was nicknamed "Robert the Fox" as well as the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily – underlining the identification of such qualities with foxes.
During the American Revolution Continental Army Officer Francis Marion became so adept at attacking and ambushing British forces in the swamps of South Carolina that he became known as the "Swamp Fox".
During World War II, the German commander in North Africa, Erwin Rommel, was grudgingly nicknamed the "Desert Fox" by his British adversaries, as a tribute to his cunning and skill in operational art.
The Italian sociologist and economist Vilfredo Pareto in his Trattato di Sociologia Generale developed the concept of an elite social class, which he divided into cunning 'foxes' and violent 'lions'. In his view of society, the power constantly passes from the 'foxes' to the 'lions' and vice versa.

Figures of speech

The words fox and foxy have become slang in English-speaking societies for an individual with sex appeal. The word vixen, which is normally the common name for a female fox, is also used to describe an attractive woman—although, in the case of humans, "vixen" tends to imply that the woman in question has a few nasty qualities.
The word shenanigan is considered to be derived from the Irish expression sionnachuighim, meaning "I play the fox."

Literature

Children's books

Film and television

Animation

Anime

Aggretsuko – Fenneko Beastars – Voss BNA: Brand New Animal – Nazuna HiwatashiDragon Ball – DonbeDog Days – Yukikaze PanettoneGingitsune Messenger Fox of the Gods Shinto AnimeDigimon – Renamon, Kudamon, Kyuubimon, Pokomon, Taomon, Sakuyamon and YoukomonGugure! Kokkuri-san – Kokkuri-sanHiiro no Kakera – O-Chan, Yuuichi KomuraHyper Police – Sakura BokuseiinmonzeninariInu x Boku – Soushi MiketsukamiInukami! – Yoko and Dai YokoInuyasha – ShippoJewelpet – Larimar and GumiminKaiketsu Zorori – ZororiKamisama Kiss – TomoeKanokon – Chizuru and Tayura Minamoto, and Tamamo-no-MaeKanon – Makoto SawatariKekkaishi – HimeKemono Friends – The females Ezo Red Fox and Silver Fox appear as a couple in the show.Kyatto Ninden Teyandee – Kitsunezuka Ko'on-no-KamiNaruto – Naruto Uzumaki, host to the fox-like Tailed Beast KuramaNatsume's Book of Friends – Natsume, the main protagonist, meets with a young kitsune on day on a walk.One Piece – Foxy, and Suu the cloud foxPokémon – Vulpix, Ninetales, Zorua, Zoroark, Fennekin, Braixen and Delphox; Nickit and ThievulRise of the Nura Clan – Hagoromo GitsuneRosario + Vampire – KuyouShaman King – ConchiSherlock Hound – SherlockSlayers – Jillas Jillos JillasSonic the Hedgehog and Sonic X – Miles "Tails" ProwerStrike Witches – Eila Ilmatar JuutilainenTactics – YokoTales of Symphonia – Corrine and VenusKiss on my Deity – Mashiro MitoThe Helpful Fox Senko-san – Senko-sanUrusei Yatsura – The little fox, whose name is a "little fox" too.Urara Meirochou – The protagonist love interest, Kon, is possessed frequently by the fox spirit Kokkuri-san.Wagaya no Oinari-sama – Kugen Tenko, Gyokuyou Tenko, Ogami and DaigorouxxxHolic – MugetsuYu Yu Hakusho – KuramaZoids – The Shadow Fox

Feature film

Music

Popular music

Folk music

Other media

Video games

Comics and visual novels

Web-comics

Ozy and Millie – foxes starring in a webcomic of the same nameKevin and Kell – Fiona Fennec and George Fennec, her father, are both fennec foxes.Gunnerkrigg Court – The comic's main character Antimony has a fox companion whose spirit is trapped in a doll of a white wolf, a symbol for Antimony in Alchemy.

Card games

Performance arts and opera

Other

Heraldry

Sports

Ships

Sixteen ships and two shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Fox, after the animal. Also vessels of other navies and civilian ships bore such a name.