What Everyone Gets Wrong About This Japanese Fox Monster
Video Overview & Insights
Why is the Kitsune Japan's most enduring yokai? This video examines 2,500 years of folklore, religion, history, and pop culture to explain how the legendary shape-shifting fox became Japan's most influential supernatural figure—and why its stories continue to thrive today.
Alright cool!
Now on to the other Tailed Beast (8 more to go!)
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They also included the Kitsuné in the Ghost of Yotei
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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
You talked about teen wolf but not about NARUTO???
Creative Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
I think what makes the kitsune so fascinating is the fact that it’s a neutral monster.
It can be a full fledge evil being or simply a mischievous spirit or be pure good.
While yes they have been recorded doing evil things, but at the same time there are stories of them helping humans or stopping disasters.
Like for example the Goddess Inari is said to have come to the aid of humans during a time where there was a great famine thus saving them from destruction or how there are tales where fox brides (a kitsune who married a human) gave birth to great heroes (there is a legend that says that Abe no Seimei mother was a kitsune).
I personally find it very fascinating how complex the kitsune is.
Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
You left out one major thing that contributes to the Kitsune’s popularity. That foxes are just so freaking ADORABLE!!! 🦊 ❤
Editor/Animator: Ben Harrison
Editor/Animator: Steven Simone
First mistake, using the English word monster. They don't have the western concept of monsters or evil and the rest was just slop.
Illustrator: Samuel Allan
Consultants: Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt
Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog is based on the kitsune. With his two tails, he has the ability to fly.
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Kitsune is one of my favorite yokai from Japan, so thanks for this video.
Assistant Director of Programming (PBS): John Campbell
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Its because of the Sonic, Pokémon and Furries fandoms
Music: APM Music
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
Does anybody want an Operation Fantasia movie? 🌟🦊🌟
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The chinese fox is cunning, it toppled even a kingdom. The Japanese one is more neutral. Neither bad nor good. Just like human!
Bibliography
Andrews, Elizabeth. Kitsune: Japan’s Shapeshifting Tricksters. Pop, 2022.
Kitsune do fascinate and excite the imagination. And there's so many interpretations of them, but they feel universal too? I didn't know they were associated with certain cognitive and mental illnesses and also wealthy families. The more you know. I wonder if there are also femboy kitsune
Bathgate, Michael. The Fox’s Craft in Japanese Religion and Folklore: Shapeshifters, Transformations and Duplicities. Routledge, 2004.
Davisson, Zack. Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai: Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Other Creepy Creatures from Japan. Tuttle Publishing, 2024.
Nine Tailed Fox was first recorded and described in ancient China as early as the Warring States Period. It was said that Daji, the consort of the last Emperor of the Shang Dynasty, was a nine tailed fox that took human form. She tempted the Emperor to debauchery and neglect of the kingdom, leading to bloody tyranny, famine and ruin and then revolution that overturned the Emperor, leading to their execution and the formation of a new dynasty. Hence the association to a beautiful woman who will bring a man to his downfall, and that of a manifestion of an evil spirit. Nine represents the highest number before divinity (ten), so therefore the Nine Tailed Fox is an extremely powerful creature on top of being cunning and able to shape shift into a beautiful woman. Today video games and fantasy literature uses references to Daji.
Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015.
Hart, Carina, and Yiyin Lyu. “Moral Extremes and Suprahuman Potentialities in Tales and Adaptations of the East Asian Folkloric Fox Spirit.” Marvels & Tales [Detroit], vol. 39, no. 2, January 2025, pp. 219–35.
The kitsune is a very neutral yokai. They can be from cute and harmless to more dangerous than an oni. So there is a kitsune for every taste (lol.) they are my favourite yokai and I must say that reading Shadow of the fox was an amazing experience! I wish I could read more stories with a kitsune (outside manga and anime of course)
Hisano, Masumi, et al. “Red Foxes in Japan Show Adaptability in Prey Resource According to Geography and Season: A Meta‐analysis.” Ecological Research, vol. 37, no. 2, 2021, pp. 197–214.
Kinoshita, Masami. Japanese Yokai Handbook: A Guide to the Spookiest Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Evil Creatures from Japanese Folklore. Tuttle Publishing, 2023.
BLOX FRUITS PLAYERS ASSEMBLE HERE 👇
Martin, Bradley K. "In Japan, being Foxy Isn't quite the Same as it is in America --- Richer Families are Haunted by Fox-Owning Folklore; the Role of the Exorcist." Wall Street Journal, 09 May, 1984.
Masanobu, Kagawa. “‘Foxy Lady, Foxy Yokai’: How Japan’s ‘Kitsune’ Bewitched the World.” Nippon.com, 12 April 2023.
The most famous or infamous, Tamamo no Mae
Matsuura, Thersa. The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth: The Stories of the Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune, Horrendous Oni, and More. Adams Media, 2024.
Serizawa, Satohiro, and Soichiro Sunami. “World Heritage Site as the Place for Education: The Case of the Gango-Ji Temple in Japan.” Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 8, no. 4, 2019, pp. 454–462.
Actually, the myth of the nine-tailed fox comes from China. In tales, it can be both evil and tragic. Famously the concubine of the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty. Da Ji, was said to be one, bringing down the empire by seducing him away from official duties, and into debauchery.
Smyers, Karen A. The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. University of Hawaii Press, 1999.
Unsriana, Linda, and Felita Euginia. “Anthropomorphism of the Character Kitsune in Mukashi Banashi.” Izumi, vol. 13, no. 1, June 2024, pp. 23–38.
Naruto is the reason I know about spiritual foxes 💀
Yoda, Hiroko, and Matt Alt. Yokai Attack: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Tuttle Pub., 2012.
I little not satisfied... The female fox that ending in tragedies is a gumiho, or Korean ... The topic its kitsune so .. yah they're similar but still different... Like if some magazine in 1990s said is kinda real, the kitsune is not that popular before kurama in yyh, but it's just one magazine my older sister bring with her returning home from Japan,,
Idk, kinda feel not that ... Whatever,
Still in my mind, because I still didn't understand
Kitsune is fox turning human
Kappa is humanoid kinda hehe
Tenggu humanoid kinda
Tanuki is getting hard to copy human form...
Young, Dieynaba. “Ancient Japanese Stone Said to Contain ‘Demon’ Cracks Open.” Smithsonian Magazine, 15 March 2022.
Let’s tell all the psychiatric facilities in Japan, they are not crazy just possed by a kitsune 😂
More User Perspectives
If your talking about tamamo no mae i know her real name and her past more than people knows and the true story of her.
@vanich_1985Naruto, Animation, we are together in the story say what... becuase it is not the west the woke us here
@badmonkeykingIn fact, the nine-tailed fox originated in Chinese mythology and later influenced other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea
@cxcx-y9rKitsune are so interesting.
@KnightBlade1998Because FLUFFY TAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@solarchos4352Not exactly ancient legends. most of these monsters were born in japan's 1700's writing boom. the japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls, making up fresh monsters to entertain people every week and printing stories on cheap paper to sell to the masses.
@tsm688Renamon from Digimon has a form that also traces to the Kitsune.
@ShaelynneDFullerWasn't expecting the algorithm to give me a PBS video about the origins of Floofs today UwU
@lantice013May not be what I was expecting especially since it's the July, but it's still a great creature to tackle.
@TylerRakstisNo mention of Babymetal???
@ToniAllenThought I’d watch to determine if you pronounce it correctly and not even 10 seconds in…
Not kit-su-ne, it’s ki-t’s-ne. If we can’t even say the word right, is it worth seeing if the material is actually correct?
The first time I discovered the story of the nine tail fox was Yoshitoshi's "100 aspects of the moon"
@zam6877Please correct me if I’m wrong, but Pokemon potentially has 2 lines to represent kitsune: Vulpix and Ninetails with their physical appearance, and Zorua and Zoroark with their trickster shapeshifting.
@256NatLizNo mention of Naruto? Seriously?
@dsoegiartoBECAUSE FOXES ARE CUTE GOD DAMNIT
@itaiko5498Great video as always thank you
@VTimmoni5:14 sounds familiar in setup to the fable of the crane wife
@DemonEyes23Vulpix
@morena_verbena_studioI am disappointed. I wanted you to tell more about the Chinese origins. The 9 tail fox. and connect it to all otehr Fox spirits in the world. Like Crows, the fox spirit iseems univeral. Fox are thought of as mischievous and is associated with beautiful woman. This seems the same to different degrees from Europe to native Americans. You seem to touch how a 9 tail fox is created, but did not explain it well. On Chnese myths, they become one from a regular fox that gets older and smarter. you also fail to explain the disposition of fox spirit. They seem wise but mischievous. Not so much as evil and can do good. they are always tricksters though. in the world they always seem to straddle the morality line, with different culture seeing which side they lean on differently.
@stevenlouie6922Shocked daji wasn't mentioned 😂 but ahri was 😅
@viperskiss6655While well known Kitsune are not the best known yokai. Just ask Rafe, Don, Mike and Leo.
@christopherbacon1077Ooooh, Utagawa Kuniyoshi art!!! His many many MANY pieces with Tanuki performing tons of everyday tasks using their huge testicles, and it's so freaking funny. There's something of the absurd to it that rings so true with modern comedy sensibilities, you know? It's one of those things that gives me a sense that "people have always been people".
@nekkidnoraI lived this video, very informative but not overwhelming.
@Hapa4life87I can attest that foxes are divine
@Cajek1I know you already did a special on werewolves, but you might want to think about a video on Ireland's Werewolves, the Faoladh.
@jamestipton33421:42 Fascinatingly, this seems to be a common belief among all animistic cultures. In Philippine shamanistic beliefs ("anito"), odd behaviors also signal a spirit possession ("sanib", "hulaʻ", "tagdug", etc.), usually a non-human spirit (like a tree spirit or a mountain spirit) "sticking" to a person's spirit. This was treated as a spirit (i.e. psychological) disease. Unlike physical illnesses which can be treated with herbs and whatnot, spirit diseases required shamans to perform interventions using their own spirit companions (who can move freely in the spirit world, communicate, and even fight with other spirits). People who have experienced these possessions often become shamans themselves because they have already "attracted" spirit companions.
Shapeshifting ("baliw", "baylo", etc.) was also an innate ability of most spirit beings, who use it to trick people.
However, foxes did not exist in the Philippines. So the shapeshifting trickster spirits were ascribed to other animals and plants. Mainly the spirits of the strangler fig tree ("balete"), whose central cavity was seen as a gateway to the spirit world during twilight (again strikingly similar to the Japanese belief in torii). But also wild animals like the mouse deer, civets, and snakes.
My most recent experience with the kitsune is with Kamen Rider, where one of the titular heroes, Geats, is themed after them. He ended his eponymous show by becoming a god of sorts, with a form fittingly called Geats IX, ie a nine-tailed fox. He also liked using tricks and schemes to one-up the rest of the cast (and even the protagonist of the show who came after his) and had some awful double standards (he got mad at one character who used advantages that he would've never hesitated to use, then later forgave others who did much worse things).
It was very fitting that he was a kitsune, but to me all those traits also made him unlikeable, which is why I rooted for his rival... the rider who was themed after (what else?) but a tanuki.
In the six Call of Duty movies (my idea), in the Pacific Theater trilogy, the 3rd & final: Call of Duty: Kitsune . Location: Okinawa; main character: a Kitsune shrine maiden . . . 🤷♂️…
@nickvinsable3798Excellent essay!
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Loved the blooper!