Kiko
over 5 years ago
– Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 01:48:31 AM
Having looked at Ashireiko and Chiko, the first two ranks of kitsune society, it's time to move upwards into the truly elite ranks. From here on, we're leaving yako behind. Only zenko, the good foxes, can achieve these ranks, and it takes them many centuries of dedicated spiritual practice.
The first of these spiritual ranks is Kiko (気狐) or spirit fox. Sometimes they are also called Senko (仙狐) or wizard foxes. The kiko rank starts at a minimum of 500 years of age and usually lasts until age 1000. Kiko are mostly white-furred byakko, also there are some black, gold, or silver furred kitsune among their ranks as well. These kitsune shed their physical bodies and become beings of pure spirit. They can still manifest a body if they choose to, but it can take pretty much any form they like.
There are many minor sub-ranks among kiko, and some kitsune will travel from shrine to shrine in pilgrimage, collecting ranks and accolades as they go. Like boyscout badges perhaps? One of these ranks appears in my 2nd book, The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits. That rank is Myobu, which are the inner circle of elite kitsune who serve as the ladies-in-waiting for Inari.
In folklore, the most famous example of a kiko would be Kuzunoha, who is also found in The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits. Kuzunoha is the mother of Abe no Seimei. She married a human man, gave birth to a son, and raised him for some time until her vulpine identity was discovered. Her son went on to become the famous sorcerer in Japanese history.
Chiko
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 11:17:10 PM
Greetings yokai fans!
Thanks to all of you for your support. I'm shocked and pleased to say that the Kickstarter is approaching 3000% funding as I write this update!
Yesterday we looked at Ashireiko, the lowest rank of kitsune society. Today we'll look at the next rank: Chiko.
Chiko means "earth fox" and it is meant to differentiate between kitsune who are still earth-bound, and the higher ranking kitsune who have shed their earthly bodies to become spiritual entities. Chiko are quite powerful and skilled at magic. The rank of chiko begins at 100 years of age, and it is in the chiko rank that foxes begin to acquire additional tails. The more tails a kitsune has, the longer it has lived, the more time it has spent honing its magical skills, and consequently the more powerful it is.
The chiko rank usually lasts until age 500, when it is possible to rank up to the next level. But chiko is, incidentally, the highest rank that yako can achieve, and so yako in the chiko rank may be much older. Anything above chiko requires complete dedication to the spiritual path, which yako do not care so much about. That being said, it's not a limitation to power. Even Tamamo no Mae, the most powerful evil fox that ever attacked Japan, was a "mere" chiko.
One staple you'll see in old Japanese art is kitsune putting leaves on their head. That's because in order to shapeshift, kitsune need to combine something with their body that is similar to what they want to become. So you'll often see them putting leaves on their heads like hats, or seaweed to act like hair, or even human skulls! These are all of course things that a kitsune might find in nature, which is why they tend to use leaves and sticks and such.
Another common theme in kitsune folklore is paying for things with leaves. There are countless stories about cab drivers and shop keepers who accept payment from a beautiful woman customer, only to find hours later that their wallet is filled with dried leaves instead of paper bills! Yikes! Tricked by a fox!
Let's take a look at another illustration, this one of a chiko preparing to transform into a beautiful woman:
Ashireiko
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 08:20:05 PM
Greetings yokai fans!
We've looked at the different colors of kitsune and what kind of "houses" they join as they age, becoming white, black, gold, or silver, or remaining a red fox. Let's dive a bit more into how kitsune society is categorized.
Kitsune are usually divided into two groups: zenko and yako. Yesterday we looked at yako, the wild foxes. Starting today, we'll look at how zenko, or good fox, society is laid out. While yako society is basically individualistic without much structure, zenko society is much more complicated.
As they age, kitsune begin to practice rigorous spiritual training which lasts for many years. This leads them up a ladder of ranks which they will climb throughout their lives. There are tons of ranks, and as kitsune travel Japan and perform various services for various shrines, they will receive individual accolades and certifications from the various places they serve. We're going to look at a few of the major ranks that all zenko will go through as they hone their magic and perfect their training.
The lowest rank is Ashireiko, or "Ashi spirit fox." All kitsune are born into this rank. It is named for Ashi (or Azi), a magical fox from ancient Chinese legend. When a kitsune reaches the age of 50, they begin their magical training. This involves praying to the Big Dipper and learning some Taoist secrets, as well as honing their shape shifting abilities.
Ashireiko training lasts until age 100, when a kitsune can "rank up" to the next social status...
Yako
over 5 years ago
– Fri, Dec 11, 2020 at 06:49:07 PM
Greetings yokai fans!
We've seen the four colors of good foxes. Today's let's take a look at the fifth color of fox. These are the "unaffiliated" kitsune; the ones that didn't pick a particular "house" to join, and remained your normal foxy red color. They are called yako or nogitsune (the two different ways to pronounce 野狐), which means wild foxes. While it's worth pointing out that not all yako are necessarily wicked foxes, all wicked foxes are yako.
Yako are the outsiders of kitsune society. They don't rank up their social status, they don't serve any god in particular, and there's nothing holding them back from doing unspeakable things to human beings. In essence, any time you hear a story about a wicked fox messing with humans, it's a yako. There's also not really anything stopping them from gaining supreme power if they manage to live long enough. For example, Tamamo no Mae, the most evil nine-tailed fox to ever haunt Japan, was a "mere" yako.
Folklore-wise, all of the stories about wicked foxes get lumped on to yako. Last week I wrote about how grave-digging, carrion-eating jackals in India were translated into Chinese as foxes. And Chinese folklore has plenty of its own superstitions about foxes that were imported to Japan. Namely, the core theme of foxes transforming into beautiful women, seducing men, and draining them of their life force in order to elongate their own comes from Chinese folklore.
Yako's other favorite way to harass humans is to possess them. In this case, it's not men who are usually the victims, but women. Women were thought to be more susceptible to kitsune possession than men, and "kitsunetsuki," or fox-possession, was a common way to describe mental illness in the old days. Again, this is the work of yako.
As you might guess, there will be a lot of yako in the book. They tend to be the most interesting and story-worthy!
Dakini
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 06:52:17 AM
Greetings yokai fans!
Last week I talked a bit about Dakini, while introducing ginko and kinko, the fox spirits who serve her. I gave a brief history of her introduction to Japan in that post, so I won't repeat it again here, but if you want to read it go back and check out the previous post!
The cult of Dakini was important to the ruling class during the middle ages, because Dakini worship was associated with a number of esoteric magical secrets. Among these was the ability to see in the future and predict one's death. One of Japan's most famous historical figures, Taira no Kiyomori, was once a nobody who happened to capture a servant of Dakini's while hunting. Rather than kill the fox, he decided to let it go. The fox promised to bestow Dakini's favor upon Taira no Kiyomori and grant his wishes. From then on, Kiyomori's power and fame increased. Eventually he even bacame the shogun. Much of his success was said to be do to his worship of Dakini, tracing back to that fateful hunting day.
Check out some of her art process below:
Ebooks
Lastly, I've had a few questions about ebooks for my previous books, as they didn't appear as add-ons for the Kickstarter. Originally I decided not to add ebooks as add-ons, because the ebooks are already available from Amazon so it seemed redundant to offer them here. But since then I've had quite a few people tell me that they prefer PDFs over ebooks, and asking for a PDF version of the previous books. So today I've added PDFs of the previous books as an add-on option for those who prefer that format.
