Nine-tailed fox

Japanese: 九尾狐 - きゅうびのきつね

A fox with nine tails that appears in Chinese legends. It was considered one of the auspicious creatures that appears when the world is at peace. In the "Ancient Bamboo Chronicles," it is said that Bo Zhuzi of the Xia Dynasty marched eastward and found a "fox with nine tails." In the "Shan Hai Jing," it is said that the fox in Qingqiu is nine tails, so it seems to have been considered a sacred animal of the east. In the "Bai Hu Tong," it is said that the nine tails symbolize the increase of descendants, and in the "Wu Yue Chunqiu," it is said that Yu saw a nine-tailed fox and married the daughter of the Tu Shan clan. As such, it is thought that behind the idea of auspiciousness was a belief in the vitality of marriage and fertility.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国の伝説にみえる尻尾が九つに分かれた狐。天下が太平になると出現する祥瑞の一つとされた。《古本竹書紀年》に夏（か）の伯杼子が東征して〈狐の九尾なる〉を得たといい，《山海経》海外東経には青丘国にいる狐は九尾だとあるように，東方の霊獣と考えられたらしい。《白虎通》は，九尾は子孫がふえることを象徴するといい，また《呉越春秋》には，禹（う）は九尾狐を見て塗山氏の娘をめとったとあるように，祥瑞の観念の背後には，婚姻と子孫の多産などの生命力に関する信仰があったものと考えられる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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