Kitsune are long lived, intelligent foxes said to live throughout Japan that possess magical abilities that increase as they age and grow wiser. They are not fundamentally different from regular foxes; any fox that lives long enough can gain magical powers. They can have anywhere from one to nine tails. Generally, kitsune with more tails are believed to be older and more powerful.
Kitsune are well-known for their shapeshifting abilities. They commonly assume the forms of young girls, beautiful women, or elderly men and can duplicate the appearance of specific people. The form a kitsune can take is not limited by its age or gender.
Kitsune transformed into women are sometimes said to have a narrow face with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Other traits that can suggest a person is actually is a kitsune in disguise include foxlike traits such as a fox-shaped shadow or a reflection revealing its true form. In some stories, kitsune have trouble hiding their tails when they are in human form, especially when they become careless or drunk. Kitsune may also be exposed due to their fear and hatred of dogs. Sometimes, a kitsune will be so rattled by a dog's presence that it will revert to its fox form and flee.
Other abilities kitsune can possess include the ability to possess people, generating fire or lightening from their tails or mouths, intentionally appearing in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the ability to create elaborate illusions. In some stories, they can also cause insanity or take on fantastic appearances such as that of a second moon. Other depictions portray them as somewhat similar to vampires or succubi in that they feed on the life or spirit of humans, often through sexual contact.
Nine-tailed kitsune possess powers far greater than kitsune with fewer tails. They can see or hear anything that happens anywhere in the world. Some stories also claim that they have infinite wisdom (omniscience). Nine-tailed kitsune, unlike kitsune with fewer tails, have either golden or white fur.
The part of source of a kitsune's powers is its hoshi no tama (literally meaning star ball), a round or onion shaped white ball that is usually carried in a kitsune's mouth or on its tail(s) when it is not in human form. They are sometimes described as magical jewels or pearls and are said to contain either a kitsune's soul or a portion of its powers. In cases where it is depicted as the kitsune's soul, it is said that a kitsune will die if separated from its hoshi no tama for too long; thus, one may be able to extract a promise from the yōkai in exchange for its safe return.
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Kitsune can be classified as either zenko or yako (also called nogitsune). Zenko are benevolent kitsune that are associated with Inari (the Shinto deity of rice). Yako are mischievous or malevolent kitsune and are unfortunately said to be the more common of the two types.
Zenko have to power to ward off evil and can serve as guardian spirits. People have been known to leave offerings for them at shrines in the hopes of receiving aid from them. Zenko are Inari's messengers, so they carry messages to and from the deity. They can be asked to help deal with particularly troublesome yako.
