Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Three-Tailed Fox of Koetao Pass
Category: Fox
The Myth
Near Koetao Pass in Yuki Town there was said to live a wise fox with three tails. The pass lay close to a cremation ground and was quiet at night, and people whispered that anyone carrying food there might be tricked by the fox. In time it became known simply as the Three-Tailed Fox of the pass.
One evening a man named Zen-san, who lived alone in Mugitani Village, went to town to buy supplies for a memorial service. By the time he finished his shopping, dusk had fallen, and he hurried home over the pass.
On the road he met a young woman who said she too was crossing the mountain to visit relatives. Glad for company, Zen-san walked behind her along the dark path. As they went, he became strangely fascinated by the way she moved. He tried to draw closer, but no matter how he reached out, he could not touch her. When he tried to embrace her, his hands met only empty air.
The woman glanced back and slipped into the bushes with a teasing motion, and Zen-san chased after her. All night he wandered, pursuing her deeper into the mountains, unable to catch her or understand where she went.
At dawn, the voices of villagers searching for him finally brought him back to his senses. He found himself standing atop a rock on Mount Kamatakiyama, far from the path he had followed. The fried tofu he had bought the night before was gone from his bundle.
Only then did he understand. The woman he had followed was the fox of Koetao Pass, and the swaying shapes at her waist had not been folds of cloth, but three tails moving in the darkness.
From that time on, Zen-san’s tale was told as proof that the Three-Tailed Fox still haunted the pass, ready to lead travelers astray with a smile and vanish before dawn.
Gallery
Sources
Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Osangitsune. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1039219549.html.
Interpretive Lenses
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