Fox possession - Fox possession

When the spirit of a fox possesses a person, causing an abnormal state to appear. This is the most typical example of the phenomenon of possession (hyō-i, 'possession'). In Japan, foxes have long been recognized as powerful animals, and it is clear that there has been a deep and widespread belief in foxes since ancient times, as evidenced by the custom of worshiping foxes as the place name Kitsunezuka indicates, the custom of using foxes to predict harvests and harvests, the belief that they are messengers of the rice field god, the belief that they are messengers of the Inari god or the Inari god itself, and the belief in esoteric Buddhism, Shugendō and other practices for oracles, divination and shamanism. It is safe to say that fox possession was established against the backdrop of this belief in foxes. Small beasts that possess humans are usually just called 'kitsune', but in some places they have special names. For example, from the Kanto region to the Tohoku region, there are Osaki, Osakidoka, and Izuna, from the western Kanto region to the Chubu region, Kudagitsune, Tobyo, and Ninko in parts of Sanin, and Yako in parts of Kyushu. However, there is a strange agreement in the legends about their appearance and nature, and they are often said to be about the size of a kitten, brown in color, and have 75 companions. In any case, since they are in an abnormal state, the activities of sorcerers and priests who can bring about such changes in state, explain the cause, and even release them by saying they "conquer the fox," also spread along with the superstition of foxes. It is also clear that in the mid-Muromachi period, professional priests called "kitsune-tsukai" existed in cities (Yasutomiki). The Yoshida family of Kyoto issued a talisman called the "Wild Fox Chalming Charm" in the early modern period (Bonshu Diary).

In parts of Sanin and Shikoku, this tendency has intensified, and there are cases where it has persisted to the present day. These are known as "tsukimonosuji," and the fact is that certain families are believed by villagers to be possessed by foxes, and there were also cases where human rights were ignored, such as by never intermarrying with families known as "fox-possessing families." As academic research into folklore progresses, the structure and causes of these tragic cases are finally being clarified. However, fox possession itself originally originated from animal worship, appears in records from ancient China, and can be considered a phenomenon common to a wide range of East Asia.

[Tatsuo Hagiwara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

狐の霊が人に取り憑いて異常な状態を現出させること。憑依(ひょうい)（憑霊(ひょうれい)、憑き物）現象のもっとも代表的なもの。日本では狐は早くから霊威ある動物と認められており、狐塚という地名の示すように狐を祀(まつ)る習俗、狐によって豊凶を占う習俗、田の神の使いとみなす信仰、稲荷(いなり)神の使いないしは稲荷神そのものとする信仰、密教や修験道(しゅげんどう)などの系統の行法を行っての託宣・卜占(ぼくせん)・巫術(ふじゅつ)など、古くから狐に対する信仰が深くかつ広かったことが明らかである。このような狐への信仰を背景として狐憑きが成立したとみてよい。憑く小獣については普通「きつね」とよぶだけだが、所によっては特殊な呼び名をもつ。たとえば、関東から東北にかけてオサキ・オサキドウカ（御先稲荷）・イズナ（飯綱）、関東西部から中部地方にかけてはクダギツネ（管狐）、山陰の一部でトウビョウ・ニンコ（人狐）、九州の一部でヤコ（野狐）などである。しかしその形態・性情については不思議に伝承の一致があり、大きさはほぼ子猫ほど、色は茶褐色、眷属(けんぞく)は75匹などということが多い。いずれにせよ異常な状態になるのであるから、こうした状態変化をもたらしたり、またはその原因を説明し、はては「狐を落とす」と称して解放させたりすることのできる呪術(じゅじゅつ)者・祈祷師(きとうし)の活動も、狐馮きの俗信に伴って広まっていた。室町中期に「狐仕(きつねつかい)」と称する職業的祈祷師が都市にいた（『康富記(やすとみき)』）ことも明らかである。京都の吉田家からは近世初頭に「野狐鎮札」と称する符(ふ)を出していた（『梵舜(ぼんしゅん)日記』）。

　山陰や四国の一部にあってはこうした傾向を高じさせ、現代にまでそのしこりをとどめた例もある。それは「憑き物筋」といわれるもので、特定の家が、狐を憑かせると村人から信じられてしまうに至った事実であって、「狐持ち筋」といわれた家とはけっして通婚しないなど人権が無視されるという例もあった。民俗についての学術調査が進むにつれて、それら悲惨な例の構造・原因がようやく解明されつつある。しかし、狐憑きそのものは本来動物崇拝から発したもので、古代中国の記録にもみえ、東アジアに広く共通する現象であったとみてよい。

［萩原龍夫］

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