Kitsune: Come and Sleep and the Foxes’ Wedding (Japanese fairy tale)

Author: Kyokai; Traditional

Time Period: 501 CE–1000 CE; 1851 CE–1900 CE

Country or Culture: Japan

Genre: Fairy Tale

Overview

Foxes have been part of Japanese fairy tales since the emergence of the oldest known stories, some of which were likely based on the shamanistic rituals and folktales of the Ainu, the aboriginal people of Japan. One of the oldest Japanese fox fairy tales is “On Taking a Fox as a Wife and Bringing Forth a Child.” This fairy tale, which likely developed out of an oral storytelling tradition, was first recorded by Japanese monk Kyokai in his Nihon ryoiki, a collection of folklore written between 787 and 824 CE. Kyokai presents the tale as a historical event that occurred during the reign of Emperor Kinmei (539–571 CE), while later scholars termed it a fairy tale. In English, this tale is often referred to as “Kitsune: Come and Sleep,” or simply “Kitsune”; kitsune is the Japanese word for “fox.”

In “Kitsune,” a young man from Japan’s Mino Province travels on horseback across the countryside, seeking a suitable wife. He encounters a beautiful and friendly young woman who happens to be looking for a marriage partner as well, and the two soon marry. The young woman gives birth to their son on the same day that the man’s dog gives birth to a puppy. The puppy continuously harasses the wife, barking and snapping at her, and eventually attacks her. In terror, the woman turns into a fox, her original form, and flees the household. Despite this revelation, the husband is unwilling to give her up and declares his love for his fox-wife.

When Westerners began to arrive in substantial numbers in Japan during the Meiji era, inaugurated in 1868, some became interested in collecting Japanese fairy tales. Among them was British diplomat Algernon Mitford (known as Algernon Freeman-Mitford after 1886). He included the fairy tale “The Foxes’ Wedding” in his influential 1871 anthology Tales of Old Japan, which he published under the name A. B. Mitford. He translated the fairy tale himself after he found it printed in a Japanese booklet intended for children.

“The Foxes’ Wedding” tells of the successful marriage of a young fox named Fukuyémon. Upon his father’s retirement, Fukuyémon inherits his father’s business and looks for a bride. He wins the love of a pretty, young female fox, whom he approaches through a traditional matchmaker. Their formal meetings lead to their marriage, which is celebrated in the traditional way of feudal Japan. Their marriage is a resounding success and brings joy to all involved.

The bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a litter of little foxes were born to them, to the great joy of the old grandsire, who treated the little cubs as tenderly as if they had been butterflies or flowers.

“The Foxes’ Wedding”

A critical analysis of these two Japanese fairy tales, both of which feature central fox characters, reveals how archaic story material was transcribed and shaped by a Buddhist monk and how the resulting tradition of fox fairy tales was further shaped and introduced to Western audiences by Mitford. Such analysis focuses on the changes that were made in order to recontextualize the indigenous, pre-Buddhist Japanese fairy tale “Kitsune” within a Buddhist society as well as the way in which Mitford translated and presented “The Foxes’ Wedding” to capture the interest of Western readers. This historically and culturally grounded analysis serves also to examine the validity of claims made by Western feminist, structural, and semiotic criticism. While Western critics impeccably apply feminist and structural theory to these Japanese tales, their global theoretical approach is shown to falter, in large part because of their lack of recognition of the historical and cultural specifics of the society from which the tales originate.

The dog, seeing her, ran after her barking and almost bit her. Startled and terrified, she suddenly changed into a wild fox and jumped up on top of the hedge.

Having seen this, the man said, “Since a child was born between us, I cannot forget you. Please come always and sleep with me.” . . . For this reason she was named “Kitsune” meaning “come and sleep.”

“On Taking a Fox as a Wife and Bringing Forth a Child”

Summary

The fox fairy tale “Kitsune” begins by defining the era in which it takes place, stating that its events occurred during the reign of Emperor Kinmei, which lasted from 539 to 571 CE. It was during this time that Buddhism was introduced to Japan. In this era, according to “Kitsune,” an unnamed young Japanese man from Mino Province sets out on horseback to find a suitable wife. In the countryside, he “[comes] across a pretty and responsive girl” (Kyokai, “On Taking” 104). He greets her and inquires about her business. In turn, she tells him, “I am looking for a good husband.” The young man asks her if she will marry him. When she agrees, they travel to the man’s house together and are married.

In the twelfth month of the year, the woman gives birth to a baby boy. At the same time, the dog in their household gives birth to a puppy. This puppy shows extraordinary aggression toward the woman, snarling and barking at her as well as attempting to bite her. Frightened by this unfriendly animal, the woman asks her husband to kill it, but he feels sorry for the puppy and takes no such action.

A few months later, the young dog runs after the woman as she brings refreshments to a group of servants. The dog “almost bit[es] her” ( Kyokai, “On Taking” 104). This terrifies the woman so much that “she suddenly change[s] into a wild fox” and runs away (105).

The young husband is deeply in love with his wife, especially since they have a child together. He implores her, “I cannot forget you. Please come always and sleep with me” (Kyokai, “On Taking” 105). The fox-woman agrees and continues to visit her husband, although she leaves every morning. From this, the fairy tale derives a folk etymology for the Japanese word for “fox,” kitsune: the characters kitsu and ne mean “come and sleep,” and those for ki and tsune mean “come always.” The popular title of the fairy tale, “Kitsune: Come and Sleep,” alludes to this folk etymology. However, scholars believe that the word kitsu was truly based on the transcription of a fox’s barking in traditional Japanese, while ne was a syllable of endearment.

As a sign of his love for his wife, the husband composes a poem in which he reflects on his love and his pain at her inevitable departure. He also names their son Kitsune. The fairy tale tells that Kitsune went on to become “famous for his enormous strength” (Kyokai, “On Taking” 105). The boy is identified as the ancestor of a prominent family in Mino Province, the Kitsune-no-atae clan.

The Nihon ryoiki explores the fate of one of the boy’s descendents in “On a Contest between Women of Extraordinary Strength,” a sort of sequel to “Kitsune.” This fairy tale tells the story of Mino no Kitsune, the fourth-generation descendent of the fox-woman’s child. This woman has inherited amazing physical strength that equals that of “one hundred men” (Kyokai, “On a Contest” 163). Yet this descendant of Kitsune puts her physical ability to bad use. At Ogawa Market in Mino Province, the woman robs “passing merchants of their goods” with her strength. One day, this descendant of the fox-woman is challenged by another woman, the descendent of a boy blessed by the Thunder Spirit. After losing a fight to this challenger, she vows to leave the market and desist from robbing people. This restores peace to the market.

Unlike “Kitsune,” “The Foxes’ Wedding”is set in indeterminate time and place. The tale begins as the young white fox Fukuyémon enters adulthood. Shaving his forelock as a Japanese male of the feudal era would traditionally do upon this occasion, Fukuyémon considers himself grown up. As he is of marriageable age, he wants to start a family. Fukuyémon’s father retires and hands over control of the family business to his son, who works hard to improve his business and follows the traditional approach to looking for a suitable wife. He hears of “a beautiful young lady-fox” from an old and famous family and arranges for a formal meeting with her, engaging the services of a middleman (Mitford 225).

Their first meeting goes well, and Fukuyémon proceeds with traditional wedding preparations. He sends gifts to his beloved’s family, and they are duly acknowledged. The intermediaries fulfill their function and are properly rewarded. Finally, Fukuyémon’s bride is brought to his house on a day on which the sun is shining through the rain, an event called hideriame or kitsune no yomeiri, the latter of which literally means “foxes’ wedding.”

After the wedding, the young husband and wife live “lovingly together” (Mitford 227). Their love soon bears fruit as “a litter of little foxes [is] born to them.” These bring special delight to Fukuyémon’s father, who adores his healthy grandchildren. When the little foxes are old enough, they are taken to the Inari shrine to be blessed and placed under the kami (“spirit”) Inari’s divine protection. This is done so the little foxes can live without harm from dogs and “all the other ills” that might befall them.

The fairy tale ends with Fukuyémon an old fox, blessed by his offspring. The number of his children increases annually, and his business flourishes. He lives “happy in his family and his business,” and each year brings him “fresh cause for joy” (Mitford 227).

Bibliography

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---. “On Taking a Fox as a Wife and Bringing Forth a Child.” Nakamura 104–5.

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