Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Seven-Tailed Old Fox
Category: Fox
The Myth
In the Takamatsu area of Shimada Village, farmers began to suffer repeated thefts of chickens and other small livestock. The villagers suspected that a fox or raccoon dog was responsible, but the losses continued, and people grew uneasy.
At last, on the night of May 18th, several young men armed themselves and hid in wait, determined to catch the culprit. They watched through the darkness until, around the second hour of the night, a large fox suddenly appeared.
The men rushed after it and, after a hard chase, managed to capture it. When they finally saw the creature clearly, they realized it was no ordinary animal.
The fox was enormous, nearly twice the size of a normal fox, and its body bore the look of great age. Most striking of all were its tails — seven of them, each forked and spreading like branches. Around its neck was a strange mark shaped like a coin, as though it carried a crest upon its fur.
Those who saw it said the sight recalled the legends of powerful fox spirits, like the golden nine-tailed fox of old tales. The captured creature was whispered to be a furugitsune, an ancient fox that had lived long enough to gain strange power and form.
And so the fox of Shimada Village passed into local memory as a sign that, even in ordinary fields and farms, creatures of great age and mystery might still walk unseen among humans.
Gallery
Sources
Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Shichibi-Furugitsune. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1039850186.html.
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
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