Bake-danuki are a kind of yōkai (supernatural beings) found in the classics and in the folklore and legends of various places in Japan, commonly associated with the Japanese raccoon dog or tanuki. Although the tanuki is a real, extant animal, the bake-danuki that appears in literature has always been depicted as a strange, even supernatural animal. In some regions of Japan, bake-danuki are reputed to have abilities similar to those attributed to kitsune (foxes): they can shapeshift into other things or people, and can possess human beings. In folktales like “Kachi-kachi Yama”, and “Bunbuku Chagama”, they often played the part of foolish animals. Compared with kitsune (fox), which are the epitome of shape-changing animals, one saying is “the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight (狐七化け、狸八化け)”. The tanuki is thus superior to the fox in its disguises, but unlike the fox, which changes its form for the sake of tempting people, tanuki do so to fool people and make them seem stupid. Also, a theory is told that they simply like to change their form. The animal name mujina also sometimes meant the Japanese raccoon dog, with overlapping folklore. The comical image of the tanuki having a large scrotum is thought to have developed during the Kamakura era, where goldsmiths would use tanuki pelts for the process of hammering gold nuggets into leaf. Tanuki are also said to drum on their bellies, making sounds such as “pom poko” or “ponpon”, and typically depicted as having large bellies. Tanuki may or may not be the cause of mysterious drumming sounds tanuki-bayashi.
Alias Bake-danuki (化け狸)
Real Names/Alt Names Japanese raccoon dog; Alt: Tanuki (たぬき), “pom poko”, “ponpon”
Appearance List Kokon Chomonjū (古今著聞集, 1254), Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (画図百鬼夜行, “The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” or The Illustrated Demon Horde’s Night Parade, 1776) Vol. 1 “Yin”
Description Bake-danuki are a kind of yōkai (supernatural beings) found in the classics and in the folklore and legends of various places in Japan, commonly associated with the Japanese raccoon dog or tanuki. Although the tanuki is a real, extant animal, the bake-danuki that appears in literature has always been depicted as a strange, even supernatural animal. In some regions of Japan, bake-danuki are reputed to have abilities similar to those attributed to kitsune (foxes): they can shapeshift into other things or people, and can possess human beings. In folktales like “Kachi-kachi Yama”, and “Bunbuku Chagama”, they often played the part of foolish animals. Compared with kitsune (fox), which are the epitome of shape-changing animals, one saying is “the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight (狐七化け、狸八化け)”. The tanuki is thus superior to the fox in its disguises, but unlike the fox, which changes its form for the sake of tempting people, tanuki do so to fool people and make them seem stupid. Also, a theory is told that they simply like to change their form. The animal name mujina also sometimes meant the Japanese raccoon dog, with overlapping folklore. The comical image of the tanuki having a large scrotum is thought to have developed during the Kamakura era, where goldsmiths would use tanuki pelts for the process of hammering gold nuggets into leaf. Tanuki are also said to drum on their bellies, making sounds such as “pom poko” or “ponpon”, and typically depicted as having large bellies. Tanuki may or may not be the cause of mysterious drumming sounds tanuki-bayashi.
