EA 40 Reading Week 7: Foxes in Japanese Culture

For Discussion questions due on Thursday, click here.

7a: Foxes

Reading Questions:

Blacker, "Witch Animals"

This chapter details fox possession and ownership in Japan from an anthropological point of view.

1) According to Blacker, why do foxes possess humans? (pp. 52-53)

2) What are the two main groups of fox "employers"?

3) Pay attention to the description of the "Izuna" or "Dagini" (Dakini) esoteric ritual -- we will see it again. (54-55)

4) How and why do people become accused of fox ownership? (56-60)

5) According to Blacker, how did originally benevolent fox and serpent deities become degraded into witch animals? (66-67)

Goff, "Foxes in Japanese Culture: Beautiful or Beastly?"

This article is a general overview of historical beliefs about foxes in Japanese literature and culture, and their source in Chinese literature.

1) Why is the fox naturally revered as the embodiment of the rice deity Inari?

2) Pay special attention to Goff's summary of the Tamamo no Mae (Nine-tailed Fox) story, and its Noh version The Death Stone (Sesshôseki). We'll be going over this story in class on Thursday (see images).

3) What might have been the historical background of the Tamamo no Mae story? Who does Goff believe benefited from these two versions of the story?

4) How does the Noh play The Swordsmith (Kokaji) present foxes in a positive light? Do you think it is only coincidence that the fox appears as a young man rather than a young woman?

5) Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees (Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura): familiarize yourself with this story; next week when we get to Kabuki, the introductory video we will watch is from this play.

Japanese Tales

Pay special attention to the following stories: #80, 83, 84, 124, 205, 206, 208, 209.

See also discussion questions for Thursday. Make sure you bring the book to class on Tuesday too!

[OL] Supplementary: webpage on Inari Deity, foxes, and Dakini
There's a good deal of information here, but it is not particularly well organized. It does give a good feel for the ways that medieval deities associated with foxes became extremely interconnected and hybrid.

7b:  Foxes in Kyôgen and Noh

Tyler, Japanese Tales, #81, 82, 207, 125

1) In these stories, how are men and women affected differently by foxes?

2) When women are possessed by foxes how does their personality change? How might this be related to women associated with serpents?

The Death Stone (Sesshôseki)

This is a very old translation (1880) so the language is a bit creaky (sacerdotal besom???) and filled with bad rhymes, but it should give you a sense of the plot (see Goff for the basic story). Chamberlin was translating from classical Japanese, and some of his romanizations of names are archaic. For example, the Zen priest's name should be Gennô, not Genwou. I've also provided a second English translation from The-Noh.com with Japanese, but it may be harder to print out.

1) What is the structure of this play?

2) What is the main conflict? How does Gennô enlighten the fox woman?

Tsurigitsune(The Fox and the Trapper)

1) How is this play different from the Kyôgen plays we read last week? Does it seem to be parodying anything? What kind of humor does it convey?

2) How is it similar to a Noh play?

3) How is the fox portrayed in this play? How is this portrayal similar to foxes we've seen before? How is it different?

4) The story retold by the fox in the middle of the play is the "Legend of the Nine-tailed Fox." How is the nine-tailed fox in the legend different from the fox in this play? Why might he be telling this story?

5) What are the attitudes of the characters in this story towards Buddhism?