tanuki

Raccoon dogs, called tanuki in Japanese, hold an important place in the country’s folklore and legends. The supernatural form of the animal, known as bake-danuki, appears in classical literature and regional traditions across Japan.

While the raccoon dog is a real creature, the bake-danuki has always been portrayed in stories as something uncanny or magical. Its earliest literary mention comes from the Nihon Shoki, compiled during the Nara period, in a passage from the reign of Empress Suiko that states, “In the second month of spring, in the land of Mutsu, there are tanuki that change into humans and sing songs.” From there, bake-danuki went on to appear in other important works, including the Nihon Ryōiki and the Uji Shūi Monogatari. In many regions, these beings were said to share powers commonly associated with foxes, such as the ability to shapeshift into people or objects and even to possess humans.

A particularly rich body of legends comes from the Sado Islands of Niigata Prefecture and from Shikoku. Famous examples include the Danzaburou-danuki of Sado, the Kinchō-tanuki and Rokuemon-tanuki of Awa Province (modern Tokushima Prefecture), and the Yashima no Hage-tanuki of Kagawa Prefecture. These extraordinary tanuki were often given individual names and honored in rituals, reflecting the depth of their role in local tradition.