Kitsunetsuki


Kitsunetsuki, also written kitsune-tsuki, literally means "the state of being possessed by a fox". The victim is usually said to be a young woman, whom the fox enters beneath her fingernails or through her breasts. In some cases, the victims' facial expressions are said to change in such a way that they resemble those of a fox.
Though foxes in folklore can possess a person of their own will, kitsunetsuki is often attributed to the malign intents of hereditary fox employers.
Stories of fox possession can be found in all lands of Japan, as part of its folk religion. Stories of kitsunetsuki s have already been attested during the Heian period.
From a clinical standpoint, those possessed by a fox are thought to suffer from a mental illness or similar condition. Such illness explanations were already being published by the 19th century, but the superstition was difficult to eradicate.

Heian period

The belief in kitsunetsuki dates back to the Heian Period. The attribution of illness to evil fox spirit is already attested in Nihon ryōiki, hence folk belief in kitsunetsuki dates at least as far back as this.

Early three foxes ritual

Another piece of evidence that fox possession must have already been firmly been entrenched some time after the introduction the esoteric of mikkyō Buddhism in the 9th century was that the esoteric Buddhist liturgy Rokujikyō for removing spiritual possession involved creating the effigies of the "three foxes", namely, tenko, and hitogata out of dough and swallowing the burnt ash. A related work Byakuhōshō calls the three foxes celestial fox, terrestrial fox, and jinko, and refers to them as the three "obstacles"

Hungry fox

It is said that when a fox possesses a person, it does so in order to satiate hunger, or craving for more delicacy or gourmet food. Or it may harbor a desire to be worshiped.
But the possessed person himself or herself often cannot articulate what the fox's motives or wishes are. So the possession is taken over by a miko exorcist temporarily, who can speak on behalf of the devil. Such is the turn of events in e.g the narrative of the 11th century ''Uji shūi monogatari''

Muromachi and Edo period

The idea of fox possession arguably became more widespread in the fifteenth century.
The rational explanation as an illness had already appeared in print in the work Jinko benwaku dan. But the superstition would persistently remain entrenched in the populace for many more years.

Persisting superstition

Izumo area

A ninko according to Lafcadio Hearn is a fox spirit, apparently smaller than the usual fox except its tail being like a normal full-sized fox's. It is invisible so cannot be detected until it takes possession of some human. Actually the ninko is considered to be kept by the kitsune-mochi, i.e., families gossiped to own and control a fox that can possess, gaining success via that power.

Ninko

The is actually a regional term, only spoken of commonly in the region where Hearn resided, Izumo, the neighboring Hōki. The associate lore of kitsunemochi or "fox owning" families is sporadic throughout Japan, but prevalent in the western portion of the former Izumo province.
It was in this central San'in region where gossip about certain families being ninko-havers got started. According to the work Izumo kokunai jinko monogatari, the very concept of "kitsune-mochi" arose around the early Kyōhō era, in the wake of conflict between the landlord peasant and his sharecroppers, where resentment toward the landlord's sanctions resulted in the spreading of the vicious rumor.
However Seiroku Kuramitsu asserted that a suitably educated person, almost certainly a hōin to arrive at tenko, chiko, jinko/ninko or the heavenly, earthly, and man-fox.
What the Izumo folk call ninko or kitsune-mochi parallels the inugami of the neighboring Iwami Province and Oki islands.. The inugami was also known as tōhyō though is usually considered a serpent familial spirit.

Kitsune-mochi benefits and stigma

Other kitsune use their magic for the benefit of their companion or hosts as long as the humans treat them with respect. As yōkai, however, kitsune do not share human morality, and a kitsune who has adopted a house in this manner may, for example, bring its host money or items that it has stolen from the neighbors. Accordingly, common households thought to harbor kitsune are "shunned". Oddly, samurai families were often reputed to share similar arrangements with kitsune, but these foxes were considered zenko and the use of their magic a sign of prestige.

Exorcism

Attempting to rid someone of a fox spirit was done via an exorcism, sometimes perhaps at an Inari shrine, but usually through visit by a miko or a yamabushi trained in shugendō.
The miko will first transfer the fox spirit from the patient to herself, as in the medieval tale described under
If a priest was not available or if the exorcism failed, alleged victims of kitsunetsuki might be badly burned or beaten in hopes of driving out the fox spirits. The whole family of someone thought to be possessed might be ostracized by their community.

Self-induced possession

A miko or itako purports to be capable of forcing a controlled possession of herself by a fox spirit, and engage in, a sort of séance to speak on behalf of the spirit.

Clinical study and psychiatry

Kitunetsuki remained a common diagnosis for mental illness until the early 20th century. Possession was the explanation for the abnormal behavior displayed by the afflicted individuals. In the late 19th century, Shunichi Shimamura noted that physical diseases that caused fever were often considered kitsunetsuki. The superstition has lost favor, but stories of fox possession still occur, such as allegations that members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult had been possessed.
Clinical psychiatric studies of the kitsunetsuki were still made during the Meiji Era, especially around Shimane where kitsunetsuki remained prevalent. A German doctor coined the term alopecanthropy for it, in 1885.
Symptoms include cravings for rice or sweet adzuki beans, listlessness, restlessness, and aversion to eye contact. This sense of kitsunetsuki is similar to but distinct from clinical lycanthropy.

Familiar spirits

The faith healers who are hired to cure the kitsune-tsuki as an illness, the miko se families are said to have been able to use their fox to gain fortune, but marriage into such a family was considered forbidden as it would enlarge the family. They were also said to be able to bring about illness and curse the possessions, crops, and livestock of enemies. This caused them to be considered taboo by the other families, which led to societal problems.
There are families that tell of protective fox spirits, and in certain regions, possession by a kuda-gitsune, osaki, Yako, and hito-gitsune are also called kitsunetsuki.

Works cited

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  • * --.. Reprinted under new title 憑物耳袋, in: Tsukimo 憑物. Hobunkan shuppan.
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