"It's called a... Kitsune. It's pretty rare. They... look human... 'Till they sprout out claws and stab you behind the ear to get to your brain."
Kitsune is a supernatural shapesifting creature that is similar to werewolves. Their name is the Japanese word for fox. There are two subspecies of foxes in Japan, named Red Fox and Hondo Kitsune, and they are both related to mythological belief in Japasese folklore.
Kitsune are believed to possess great intelligence, long life, and magical powers. Foremost among these is the ability to shapeshifting into human form; a fox is said to learn to do this when it attains a certain age (usually a hundred years, though some tales say fifty).
Kitsune usually appears in the shape of a beautiful woman, a young girl, or an old man, but almost never an elderly woman.
Etymology[]
The word 'kitsune' is often translated as fox spirit ghosts, however this doesn’t mean that they are not living creatures, nor that they are not foxes.
The word spirit is used in its Eastern meaning, reflecting a state of knowledge or enlightenment. Any fox who lives sufficiently long, therefore, can be a fox spirit. There are two major types of kitsune; the myobu, or celestial fox, associated with Inari, who are presented as benevolent. and the nogitsune, or wild fox, who are often represented as malicious.
Appearance[]
Kitsune's fox-eyes
Kitsune are mostly noticed for is their tails as a fox may possess as many as nine of them. Generally, an older and more powerful fox will possess a greater number of tails, and some sources say that a fox will only grow additional tails after they have lived for a thousand years. After that period of time, the number increases based on age and wisdom (depending on the source). However, the foxes that appear in folk stories almost always possess one, five, or nine tails, not any other number.
Kistunes looks like a regular human being but have the ability to partially shapeshift themselves into animal-like qualities. A Kitsune's primary weapon is their claws; they can extend claws from their finger tips upon demand. And, if they are feeding or attacking, their eyeballs turn yellow and fox-like while the pupils narrow. All in all they take on a very similar appearance a werewolf does. Sometimes, when a kitsune is startled, it will accidentally reveal it's tail(s).
Powers & Abilities[]
- Shapeshifting - Kitsunes can take human form by shapeshifting into a human. They can also shapeshift into their true appearance, a large fox creature.
- Superhuman Strength - Kitsunes are stronger than humans. They can easily knock down and overpower humans with little difficulty. Like with Werewolves, Skinwalkers, and other shapeshifters, a Kitsune's strength increases in its fox form.
- Fox-Fire - Kitsune can produce/create fire and lightning by rubbing their tails together. Kitsune can also create small balls of fire and even breathe fire. Kitsune are also able to absorb a large amount of electricity into her body. The foxfire appears to be more than just electrical. There is apparently a magical component as well as Kitsune was able to use lightning to repair a broken human.
- Dream Manipulation - Kitsune can cause willful manifestation in the dreams of others
- Magic - Like witches, Kitsune can study any normal field of magic.
- Mind Control - Similar to vampires, a kitsune can cause someone to see anything the kitsune wishes, or overlook anything the kitsune wants them to, similar to compulsion.
- Superhuman Speed - Kitsunes possess supernatural speed that is described as almost fox-like, making them faster than humans. Along with their strength, they use their speed to catch their prey or enemies off guard and kill them swiftly and expediently. In fox form, their speed increases.
- Claws - All Kitsunes have long talon-like claws that they use to tear at their victims with. Along with their strength and speed, their claws are mostly used to kill prey.
- Healing Factor - Kitsune exhibit accelerated healing, although it takes them some time to recover from several bullet wounds.
- Superhuman Durability - Kitsune are invulnerable to any form of harm. They can only die if they're stabbed in the heart, or starvation.
- Longevity - Kitsune have an extended life span. Some have been know to be as old as 900 years of age.
Weaknesses[]
- Heart destruction - If you manage to get close enough to one, you can stab the Kitsunes' heart with a Dagger or Knife. Or if you like to play safe, you can always try to snipe their chest.
- Decapitation - You can kill a Kitsune by removing its head. Ah, just like old times where guillotines were legal.
- Heart Extraction - If you like to play transplant with folklore foxes, you can remove the Kitsune's heart, leading to its painful death.
- Starvation - Everything has to eat, even folklore foxes. Without a supply of Human Brains (pituitary glands at best.) The Kitsune will starve to death.
- Internal Combustion - If you manage to put a remote-controlled bomb in it's digestive system. Then, Bombs away! It'll incinerate the Kitsunes organs.
- Magic - Kitsunes are most likely to be harmed by another's magic. Good luck trying to find a witch or wizard!
- Religion
Main Belief[]
Kitsune are often associated with the deity of rice known as Inari. Originally 'kitsune were Inari’s messengers, but the line between the two has become so confused that Inari is sometimes depicted as a fox.
Behaviour[]
In Japanese folklore, the kitsune are often presented as tricksters; sometimes very malevolent ones. The tricksters kitsune employ their magical powers to play tricks on people; those portrayed in a favorable light tend to choose as targets overly-proud samurai, greedy merchants, and boastful commoners, while the more cruel kitsune tend to abuse poor tradesmen and farmers or Buddhist monks.
Despite their role as tricksters, however, a kitsune will keep a promise it has given and will strive to repay any favour it owes Occasionally a kitsune will take a liking to and attach itself to a certain person or household; as long as it is treated with respect, it will use its powers for the benefit of its companion or hosts.
Kitsune are also commonly portrayed as lovers. These love stories usually involve a young human male and a kitsune who takes the form of a woman. Sometimes the kitsune is assigned the role of seductress, but often these stories are romantic in nature. Such a story usually involves the young man unknowingly marrying the fox, and emphasizes the devotion of the fox-wife.
Many of these stories also possess a tragic element — they usually end with the discovery of the fox, who then must leave her husband. On some occasions, the husband wakes, as if from a dream, to find himself far from home, filthy, and disoriented, and must often return to confront his abandoned human family in shame.
Victims of kitsunetsuki were often treated cruelly in hopes of forcing the fox to leave. It was not unusual for them to be beaten or badly burned. On some occasions, entire families were ostracized by their communities after a member of the family was believed to be possessed. In Japan, kitsunetsuki was a common diagnosis for insanity as recently as the early [20th century. Possession was the explanation for the abnormal behaviour displayed by the afflicted individuals.
Kitsune are reputed to be inordinately fond of deep fried tofu, a number of dishes, containing deep fried tofu, reference this love in their name; Kitsune Udon (udon noodle soup served with several pieces of deep fried tofu) and Inari zushi (sushi rice packed into pockets of deep freid tofu that have been simmered in a broth of soy sauce, mirin and rice vinegar).
Notes[]
- In Supernatural The Official Companion Season 7, writer Daniel Loflin gave a bit more insight into Kitsunes. "They're just a different version of the werewolf. Like how we basically did a weredog last year with Lucky in All Dogs Go To Heaven. This time we could have done a werecrocodile! Sera Gamble had a thing about the movie Let the Right One In. We'd been talking about it since the beginning of season six; she wanted to do a Let The Right One In-type episode where Sam has his first kiss, but we could never figure out a way to do it. Then, for our first episode of season seven, Sera saw an opportunity to put it in there. We didn't want to do a vampire [like in the movie], so we found the Japanese monster, the kitsune, and we amended the lore to fit the story."
- Kitsunes feed on the pituitary gland, a protrusion of the hypothalamus and part of the endocrine system. The gland itself is roughly the size of a pea, and weighs approximately 0.5 grams. It is unclear how a kitsune survives with so little sustenance. Given how they can apparently consume conventional foods (Amy and her mother kept a fully-stocked refrigerator despite having no human visitors), the pituitary gland may serve as a kind of supplement rather than a full meal.
- In Japanese folklore, foxes are considered mischievous, malevolent, or benevolent spirits that can take human form. Kitsune is the original species from which the common day fox derived. For reasons unknown, the Kitsune were historically attacked and their very souls bound to shrines throughout Japan and other countries leaving their physical bodies weak. Over time, the soul-less Kitsune species evolved into the modern day fox with four legs rather than the original human-fox form which is always supernaturally attractive and mysterious.
- The Supernatural version of kitsune actually has more in common with the Korean monster gumiho than the Japanese creature they are named for. Gumiho are stated to have nine tails. It's possible that "gumiho" was a local name for the same monster, a "bastard offshoot" of an ancient race of fox-like monsters or even a totally different creature.
- The design of these Kitsunes is very similar to the design of the Mai race from the series The Nine Lives of Chloe King.