Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Goro Fox, Hachi no Goro Kitsune
Category: Fox
The Myth
Goro Kitsune is a powerful shapeshifting fox said to be the reincarnation of an ancient golden nine-tailed fox. He lives in a deep den in Hachi no Nekoyama, near the border between Hachi and Takashima villages in Niigata Prefecture. According to legend, he spent five hundred years digging his enormous den. About four kilometres from its entrance stands the sacred stone Buddha of Hachi, whose body contains a pillar from the Dragon Palace. Even Goro Kitsune cannot touch this sacred figure. The fox has glass-inlaid eyes, an enormous tail large enough to wrap around his body, and a golden jewel at its tip. By placing the jewel against his mouth, blowing on it, and performing a somersault, he can transform into almost anything, from a beautiful princess to a huge blue ogre or a cute, one-eyed boy buying tofu.
Goro Kitsune delights in playing tricks on the villagers, particularly by staging false fires and supernatural fox weddings. In the middle of the night, he makes the village fire bell ring, sending everyone rushing outside, only for them to discover that there is no fire. His fox weddings are even more elaborate: on moonless nights, he illuminates mountain paths with hundreds of lanterns, creating the appearance of a grand wedding procession. When villagers approach, the procession vanishes. Eventually, people become accustomed to these deceptions, so Goro adds songs to his lantern-lit processions to make them convincing again. One autumn, early snowfall buries the foxes’ food, and Goro advises the foxes of Tsumari and Matsunoyama to steal the villagers’ rabbits and chickens. The thefts cause an uproar, and the villagers decide to hunt him down. They smoke out his den with burning cedar leaves and chilli peppers, but the old stonemason who emerges is actually Goro in disguise. After escaping, he tricks the villagers once more by making the village bell ring, sending them rushing home to find nothing wrong.
Unable to catch Goro, the villagers ask Myoya Zenji, a highly respected Buddhist monk known affectionately as Myoya-sama, to deal with the fox. When the monk enters Goro’s den, the fox transforms into a tiny ant and attempts to escape by clinging to a spiderweb. However, Myoya recognizes him and calls him by name, breaking his disguise. The monk rebukes Goro for abandoning the greatness of his former life as a legendary fox in China and becoming a petty thief in Japan. He threatens to kill the fox if he continues his wicked behaviour, and Goro finally apologizes and promises to reform. As proof of his sincerity, he reluctantly surrenders his golden jewel. Unable to accept the loss of his powers, Goro seeks help from Otama, an old tanuki who possesses a similar magical jewel. She lends him hers, allowing him to disguise himself as an elderly woman and trick Myoya into returning his own treasure. Yet the monk later approaches Goro with sake and fried tofu, pretending to reconcile with him. Once Goro becomes drunk and demonstrates his transformations, Myoya challenges him to become small enough to fit inside a sake bottle. Goro transforms into an ant and crawls inside, whereupon the monk seals the bottle and buries it in the ground. Goro is then made to guard the Thirteen Buddhas, and from that day onward, he can no longer cause mischief.
Sources
“ゴロギツネ (Gorogitsune).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1013072032.html