All About KITSUNE: Japanese foxes in folklore, religion and, of course, BABYMETAL. With AJ Hartley.

Yes, we all know BABYMETAL are associated with foxes, but why? Here's an attempt to think that through. And if you are interested in Japanese folklore, check out my new book, Hideki Smith, Demon Queller (links below).
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[@jz55859]

Thank you for this help in understanding Kitsune in Japanese culture. I am a recent Babymetal fan and a musician of 50 plus years. This enlightened me as to the seemingly mystical pull of Babymetal and their music. I speak no Japanese and yet feel I immediately understood the positive and uplifting nature of the music and the message, not to mention the almost fierce bond I developed with the band in general. Again, this is deeply appreciated and I look forward to more.

[@AndrewHartley]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful/interesting :)

[@htusda1]

Thank you for another great tutorial... and I am Japanese! I have been to Hokkaido about 30 times, my favorite place in Japan, and each time spot many cute foxes (Kita Kitsune = Northern Fox)... just adorable. I've only been to Fushimi Shrine once, but should have taken a closer look at all the fox figures... will do so next time. I am so happy to see you at the FOX GOD Bar! / And now I understand why in Japanese, we use the phrase,"Your tail is showing", meaning "Busted!" 🦊🦊🦊

[@AndrewHartley]

Excellent. I love that expression about your tail! I wonder if it is specific to foxes or may include tanuki as well in its origins? Thank you for your response. Mh evening at the fox god bar in Tokyo was very fun!

[@Slytherkins]

I didn't expect this to be related to BabyMetal except maybe tangentially. XD Nice surprise, tho. This was fun. Thanks, AJ! 🤘🦊🤘

[@hedobannord1184]

Thanks for your video, that was interesting stuff - japanese mythology is really fascinating so I'm very grateful for getting a glimpse of that through your "lectures" on KZbin.

[@AndrewHartley]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@flugelhornoldman1362]

As usual, I appreciate your lecture ありがとうございます💛。Your analysis always reminds me of my "shallow understanding" of Japanese culture (or in a good way "unconscious acceptance" instead 😄 ). Demarcation lines between the seven categories are indistinct for me whereas there are some definitions respectively as you analyzed. That is not only instructive but also a little bit shocking to me. When I travel with my wife, we visit several religious places. So next time in shrines or temples, I will ask my wife "are you now praying to a messenger or divine figure or god ?" to test her. Your video reminds me of another thing. The photo at 22:50. Happy and memorable day in June this year at the sanctuary for international Kitsunes (British-born American and Japanese). Looking forward to seeing you again.

[@AndrewHartley]

I suspect that it is true for most people that the lines of distinction between the fox forms are unclear, and that is not a bad thing. It is, however, very different from the traditional approach to religion in the west in which different denominations and individuals nail down precise differences in their understanding and insist on the rightness of one over the other. Of course, most ordinary people do not understand those distinctions, even if their priests do. I think your "unconscious acceptance" is right and proper, and the lack of hard distinctions between categories is part of what makes the fox so appealing and mysterious. I am glad you appreciated the photograph from the fox god bar: a great evening. I hope we get to do it again one day.

[@flugelhornoldman1362]

@@AndrewHartley Thank you. I am contacting the guys in the photo through a group of BM fans that has been organized by one of them. They are happy to see you post this photo. If I had not had a chance to go to FOXGOD with you, I would not have had any chance to meet them, a skulk undiscovered. (I hate the subjunctive mood. Am I grammatically correct?) In this sense, I appreciate your call for the meeting in Tokyo.

[@funnytoss]

I find that oftentimes, it is easier for an "outsider" observing a culture to identify interesting/unique aspects of it, compared to someone that grew up within the culture, because to the (Japanese) person, it's not unique, it's just "life". On a related note, I realize how Taiwanese I am when I'm in America, and how American I am when I'm in Taiwan. Traveling is quite useful in this way to help highlight which of your beliefs and thoughts are "inherently yours", and which are culturally inspired!

[@flugelhornoldman1362]

@@funnytoss Hi! funnytoss. Thanks for your comment. You are right. Objective viewpoint of intellectual person belonging to a outside culture helps insiders understand who they are. So communication with people having different cultural background like AJH, you and other Kitsunes are interesting. Foxgod is great because he/she/it (?) gave me such a good opportunity.

[@sogawa7]

The Hindu god "Dakini Ten" had a jackal-like disposition and was offered human flesh and its heart. However, they were invited to Japan, and perhaps because of the influence of Buddhism, which favors a vegetarian diet, 'fried tofu' was offered instead of meat. "Inari" is also regarded as the god of business, and is often enshrined in small shrines such as company premises or on the roof of a building. The higher up in business, the more pious.

[@AndrewHartley]

Interesting. Thanks!

[@Marty-Metal]

excellent content Andrew-Metal, Professor of BABYMETAL lore and a fine Kitsune yourself, later this month they are coming to America, I can't wait to see them again.

[@AndrewHartley]

Me too! I'll catch them in Atlanta.

[@BABYMETALPodcast]

In terms of the BM connection, I've always kind of believed that there was an element of inspired luck based in just practical planning of the BM art project. Unknowable unless Koba would tell us about it, probably, but it follows a path that feels very much like one I'd follow were I in his position. Both with the BM name and with this association with foxes, there's a kind of practical route to getting there. The project is to manifest the (imagined) inner world of little kids who see metal pageantry around them, and want to do it themselves but lack other context/history. What to call it? As soon as the pun is noticed, it's perfect, and it leaves a surface area on which ideas like "birth of a new metal" and whatnot can be bolted on. Similarly, they need to have some sign, like the horns except somehow misunderstood (and thus unique to BM). The little fox handshape fits the bill for that, one can make up a cute story about the "error." And maybe other malformed horns signs might have been considered, but once one lands on a fox sign, the path opens to it being a semi-religious sign (more or less like the sign of the horns was) but instead related to the fox symbolism. And now the richness of fox lore can be incorporated, Megitsune can be written, etc. And it carries some of the same kind of mystical weight that over-the-top showy metal has in the surrounding context, can similarly bend Saikima-II lore into this sort of fox world. Maybe it didn't happen that way, but maybe it did. But your explanation of the cultural depth of the fox lore in the Japanese context gives a pretty good idea of why foxes seemed such a good angle to take once the door that way was noticed and opened. Thanks for exploring it in depth.

[@BABYMETALPodcast]

Actually, maybe one further thought on that. The fox lore as a choice for a "religious" kind of angle is also likely quite neutral, not likely to alienate anyone in the same way that mimicking devil worship might, and without needing to completely invent the spiritual backstory but able to draw on widely shared cultural knowledge. So if you want your group of kids-who-do-slightly-misunderstood-metal to also mimic the kind of occult facet of many metal acts, picking one that is harmless in this way is both amusing and probably better marketing.

[@AndrewHartley]

Yes, no disagreement with any of that. A happy accident that becomes a core aesthetic component and a sense of purpose works for me, and there's no denying the marketing appeal of something so neatly blending cuteness and ferocity. Of course--and as usual--I gravitate to what they are now and where they are going, than I do the formative stages when they were very young, though I think I talked about that more in the video I made for Megitsune though that was 3 years ago, so who can remember? :) Cheers. No BM panels at Dragon this year, alas, so unless you are flying in for the BM show, I assume I won't see you.

[@paulwaysonyourside]

@@AndrewHartley Realized a bit too late that I should have posted as me rather than speaking broadly for the BMP. :) But, no, I'm not able to come to Atlanta, but what a fortuitous coincidence of timing that BM will be in Atlanta right during DragonCon! Too bad about the lack of a BM panel, Koba might have been able to come!

[@autohmae]

I do believe the part of 'the girls by accident made the fox sign instead of the sign usually used for metal as a misunderstanding' was something to be used to build on. Because it fits exactly with what Kobametal said: Q: What was the inspiration for creating something so different? “[I was hoping] to incite that strange feeling that makes you go ‘what is this?’” KOBAMETAL explains, going on to give a concrete example; “Like the movie Kill Bill. I think Tarantino probably really likes Japan, and he worked hard on reproducing that in the movie, but it’s just slightly off, right? Still, it has a lot of originality.” For KOBAMETAL, that’s where the entertainment is. “[If] we were to do just straight metal-having the girls screaming-it probably wouldn’t be as interesting!” Soranews, 2013

[@road-runner]

That was really fascinating. Thank you professor. 🤘🦊

[@AndrewHartley]

Very welcome

[@cm724]

Educational and Interesting. I really enjoyed this video. Where else can you learn this much in such a short time. Thank you, Prof Hartley. And getting one of those T-shirts goes right on my to-do list.

[@AndrewHartley]

So nice of you! Thanks.

[@meimemeime]

You go into great detail, thank you for including BABYMETAL. We are not educated in any particular way, but the Japanese are afraid of foxes. We are afraid of foxes punishment(祟り=tatari). At this point, there is no distinction between incarnations of gods or 妖怪(youkai);it is vague. And somehow I knew almost everything you explained to me, even though I never learned it anywhere. It may be the culture of the common people in Japan. From Japan🦊

[@meimemeime]

This is a video of Megitsune's dedication of inari sushi to Toyokawa Inari Shrine to pray for a hit. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGrKeZZ8g7-FpKc

[@AndrewHartley]

Yes, I think that when westerners talk about this stuff it gets very specific and absolute in ways which doesn't square with most Japanese people's sense of these things, so if I'm saying what you have absorbed by living there, I call that a win :) Thanks for the comment.

[@meimemeime]

​@@AndrewHartley We, as Japanese, cannot explain well why we feel that way. I appreciate your detailed explanation. In addition, I do not speak English, so I am watching your video through KZbin's automatic translation. I don't think I understand the details of what you are saying. Also, my comments are written using translation software, but I do not know how accurate the translated English is. Sorry. There is nothing in my comment that is critical of you. Only thanks.😚

[@tmmetal4237]

The excellent commentary on KITSUNE was something I wish more than just fans knew about. 🤘🦊 I would like you to watch the "Fox Bride" from the anime "Nihon Mukashi Banashi".

[@tmmetal4237]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJbbc4KCbMajd80

[@AndrewHartley]

Thank you. I will look for it.

[@giacomofenoglietto6687]

Two things, first came to your channel for your Babymetal reaction to Doki-Doki (still one of the best in my opinion), and have stayed for the conversations on all the various topics ever since. Second, with foxes such a part of the Japanese culture surely there must be what could be called "Fox Music". Melodies, songs, ceremonial works etc. both secular and religious, that are particularly associated with foxes. I would be very interested to hear some examples if it can be found. Can any thing be found in Imperial court music? ( a vast and complex subject on it own). I am aware that Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku plays have fox themes and references but are there any specific songs that would be recognized as evoking foxes to an informed listener?. I may have to look into this myself out of curiosity. As always, thank you for doing this conversation.

[@AndrewHartley]

The short answer, is that I don't know, but I will look into it. I know that transformed fox-people have been associated with music and with animal sounds, but whether they were codified as a particular type or represented in ways supposedly evoking a fox directly, I'd have to research. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@user-iw7ks5jy6x]

Thank you for very in-detail explanation on our foxes. Another lineage of fox things associated with Babymetal would be the tradition of using the concept of "世を忍ぶ仮の姿 (a temporary guise concealing one's true self)" as a tool to make characters (idols, yuru-charas, or anybody) funny as well as mysterious in the pop culture these days. Members of babymetal are to be guises in the real world, and on stage, they become ture them possessed by fox god, or vice versa. This sort of story was, I think, used originally by a metal band "Seikimatsu (聖飢魔II)" in which the members claim that they came from another plannet to concur the earth with the power of music, and the fans enjoy so much behaving as if they believe it. The lead vocal of the band (His Excellency Demon Kakka) is still treated as a extraterrestrial on any TV programmes he appears even though the people know he is human. I think some idol groups also use this 世を忍ぶ仮の姿 strategy to create their own world and make their fans enjoy. This tradition of pop culture, I think, leads to the fox story of baby metal. I believe Kobametal was strongly influenced by 聖飢魔II when he wrote the script of the whole fox stroy.

[@AndrewHartley]

That's interesting, thank you! I think there's some overlap with other rock bands like Hawkwind, even with 70s era Bowie, in terms of mythologizing their origins/interests as a way of creating personae and themes. And foxes are just cool ;)

[@funnytoss]

I have always been fascinated with Shinto and how it is so culturally integrated with Japanese society (in many ways, more of a cultural thing you just grow up with and internalize moreso than an active religious belief). More specifically, how it's such an everyday thing for many Japanese that they might not really stop to think about *what* or *why* this belief exists, it just "is". This seems to manifest itself in various ways that often go relatively unexplained when media utilizing Japanese cultural phenomenon is created, such as the nine-tailed fox in "Naruto" being the most powerful without any particular explanation, or how BABYMETAL simply uses the depiction of vixens as "cunning and deceitful" in "Megitsune" without particular explanation, because it's so normalized that the creators might not think too much about it, but it's rife for confusion or curiosity when viewed by audiences outside of this cultural lens. Anyway, that's a lot of words to say I really appreciate this breakdown even if it feels like common knowledge to those familiar with Japan, because what may seem common to someone is oftentimes fascinating to someone else that doesn't take these things for granted!

[@AndrewHartley]

Yes, exactly. That's why I was careful not to insist on a single 'meaning' or be absolute about the categories, something I see a lot in pop folklore which want to offer hard, definitive answers quite at odds with the way the people who grew up with such things feel about them. Sometimes this stuff is like cultural wall paper: the people who live with it know it and take it for granted but don't pay close attention to it. The strangers come in and obsess over the wallpaper! If I came to anything new here (for me) its the extent to which it's far from clear what the fox in shrines/temples really means, and the logic of why they suit BM so well.

[@socrateos]

When I visited a few years ago a small village in Japan where I was born, my old friend - now a bus driver - asked me a question in a bus on the way to my old home: "Do you believe in fox?", "Do you beleive there is a such a thing that man can be tricked by fox?". Without wating for my reply, he said he believed it. And he talked to me a story of his experience with fox. It was a long way home and I was the only customer in the bus. His story went like this: One day he saw a fox. He threw stones at it to chase it out from the place. A few days later, he was driving a bus as usual. He then suddenly realized he was driving the same place over and over again going nowere. He became so scared, and he realized that he was punished by the fox because he attacked it with stones the other day.

[@AndrewHartley]

What a great story! I love that. Thanks.

[@cuttysark8017]

Isn't commercial success and prosperity also an aspect of Inari and by association kitsune. Being a cynic I sometimes think that Koba is having a bit of fun by adopting the Fox God as the patron deity of BM as it puts the financial and business aspects of BM in there too.

[@AndrewHartley]

That's fair, yes. It's common for businesses to either have their own mini Inari shrine or sponsor/support more official shrines in the area. Sometimes you'll find these cool shrines marked with banners and flags that look vaguely mysterious to foreigners who can't read the kanji, but which are actually displaying the names of local businesses :)

[@kitkat6407]

ありがとうございます。お話を聞いてあらためてフォックスゴッドの伝承は良くできているなと感慨を深く致しました。月岡芳年は私も大好きです。 稲荷神はもともと渡来人の秦氏が信仰していた神が民間に流布したもので、或る意味外来神といえます。稲荷神の使いはイズナという霊獣でしたがいつしかキツネに取って代わることになりました。因みに秦氏のルーツは謎で、その末裔がのちに日本の首相になります。

[@AndrewHartley]

ありがとうございます！動物の精霊や神々の場合、民間伝承におけるその位置づけは、特定の宗教用語や伝説が書かれたり体系化されたりする以前に存在していた、先史時代のものであることが多い。そのような伝説は、特定の場所や時代に特有の古い民間信仰に基づいているかもしれないが、その後、新しい形でより広く伝わるようになった。狐の信仰は稲荷より前からあったのだろうか。おそらく知ることはできないだろうが、両者は組み合わされる前に別々に存在していたのかもしれない。これは私の憶測である。私は専門家ではない)

[@kitkat6407]

@@AndrewHartley おっしゃる通りかもしれませんね。文献上キツネの霊的性格が発現するのは九尾の狐以降だとおもいますが（それは文字の普及も大きな要因でしょう）、狐火とフォックスファイヤーの興味深い言及からは、キツネが神秘的な動物であるという認識が古代から共有されていたことを伺わせますね。 いつも素敵な動画をありがとうございます。

[@salesiocaritas8400]

みーつけた「秦氏」👀 アンドリューさんのKITSUNE考察から秦氏を連想するとは、やはり、Kit Katºさんならではだと思います(スピリチュアルいじりはしませんよw) 実は今、モーゼの「出エジプト記」を題材にした映画の楽曲をカバーしたピアニストにコメントを寄せようと思っているところなんです。当然、旧約聖書は秦氏と関係が深いことは御存知だと思います📖🕍⛩️👺歴史のメインストリームには上がりにくいカテゴリーの話ですが、民俗学的、考古学的なバックグランドでは、色々な関連性が解って面白いですね ^_^ 因みに、秦姓の古い知己が二人います。

[@kitkat6407]

@@salesiocaritas8400 世界で暗躍するSalesio Caritasさんに秦性を名乗る知り合いがいらっしゃってもなんら不思議はありませんが(笑）、真っ当で良識ある一市民である私としましてはその辺りに深入りするつもりはございません🤭。しばらくSalesio Caritasさんのコメントを見ていなかったのですが、密命を遂行なさって一息吐いてるところでしょうか ;P ところで、先日ブラタモリでタモリさんがフォックスサインで"BABYMETAL"ってやってて、なんか妙に嬉しかったです😂

[@salesiocaritas8400]

@@kitkat6407 それは公共の電波を使って特定の人へ向けた隠れサインかも...😏🕶️🤘単にメイト宣言かな。それにしてもタモリクラブが終わってしまってさみしい😢

[@takataka47jp]

我々日本人は普段の生活の中でこれらキツネにまつわる信仰またその歴史に関してあまり深く考察することはありません。 我が家の近くにも稲荷神社があり近くを通る際には必ずお参りします。あくまでそれは生活の一部であり今まで深く考えることはありませんでした。今回の動画はとても参考になりました。もちろんBABYMETALファンとしてもですが。🦊

[@AndrewHartley]

ありがとう。稲荷のキツネのことはあまり考えないと言いながら、神社にはよく参拝しているというのは、とても魅力的だと思います。これは西洋にはない日本的なパラドックスです。アメリカでは定期的に礼拝所を訪れる人は、教会に行かない人とは全く異なる方法で宗教について（そして自分自身について）考える。このことは、私たち2つの文化における「信仰」に対する考え方がまったく異なることを示唆している。とても興味深く、このようなことに対する私の一般的な感覚を確認することができた。ありがとう！

[@man-utdtoru]

『僕らは🦊』Tシャツ😉👍✨

[@autohmae]

Thanks for this. What is interesting are the parallels into other cultures, the slyness. The transformations kind of remind me of werewolves. 7:02 also reminds me of red riding hood wolf dressed like granny. Babymetal's Megitsune ceremony also had, inarizushi from Toyokawa and a Shinto priest together with Babymetal said a prayer. I guess this might also conflate different religions ? Or maybe it's just from a different religious place in the same region ?

[@autohmae]

I think a good example of religion and tradition and culture, etc. combining in the west is something like Christmas trees, which has it's origin in winter solstice celebrations got mixed with Christmas celebrations in Germany.

[@AndrewHartley]

Yes, much of Christianity's iconography was borrowed from other religions (not necessarily deliberately, but by a kind of cultural assimilation). One of my favorite examples is from an Italian town called Paestum which had been the home to an ancient Greek settlement which featured 3 massive doric temples, one of which was to the goddess Hera. The town was inundated by swamp and all the people moved into the mountains. A couple of thousand years later, when archaeologists were working on uncovering the temples, they found that a feature of the statues of Hera is that she was always shown holding a pomegranate. The local workers then led the archaeologists up to the mountain villages where they lived, where all the Catholic churches featured statues of the Virgin Mary holding a pomegranate.

[@autohmae]

@@AndrewHartley amazing ! Love that. 🙂

[@marcelopinheiro5557]

Hi. Brilliant as usual, my friend. 🇧🇷

[@AndrewHartley]

Thank you very much!

[@kinaarareFULL-MOON]

いつも興味深く拝見しています。以下、私の思い出を少し。私が子供のころ住んでいた家には、稲荷の祠があり旧正月には「稲荷大明神」の朱色の旗を何本も庭に飾り、祠に紫の飾りつけてお祝いをしました。朱色の食紅で「寿」「大福」と書いた大きな餅をたくさん買い、食べきれずにカビが生えてきました。小学生のころに父に伏見稲荷に連れて行ってもらい、長い階段と数えきれない鳥居に驚いたものです。BABYMETALと私は稲荷大明神が…？!(^^)!　ちなみに我が家は真宗大谷派（仏教）です。

[@AndrewHartley]

これは魅力的だ。ありがとう！カビの生えた食べ物についての詳細が大好きです！

[@kinaarareFULL-MOON]

ありがとう、祖父が料亭を経営していたので、商売の神である稲荷を祀っていました。60年程昔の思い出です。

[@salesiocaritas8400]

非常に知的で興味深い考察でした。　 どうもありがとうございます。🦊⛩️🦊

[@AndrewHartley]

それはありがたい。ありがとう！

[@olias056]

Thank you. That was very interesting.

[@AndrewHartley]

my pleasure

[@man-utdtoru]

ベビメタのフォックスサインは、何故か犬でも猫でもなく狐なのが分からないです。 物心ついた時からフォックスサイン=狐と親から教えられてきましたが、真実は分からない人が殆どだと思う。 けど日本人にとって狐ほど昔から結び付きが大きい生き物は居ないですね、昨今は犬猫でしょうけど、何故か神秘的なイメージを狐には感じさせられる、恐らく中国の妖狐が影響が大きいのでしょうね。 毎度の事ながら貴方の博識ぶりには感心させられます。

[@AndrewHartley]

ありがとう。もちろん、日本人以外の人たちにこのようなことを説明するのは、少し人為的です。日本人はこういったことを直感的に理解する傾向があり、学術的な考えを正確に持つのではなく、漠然と感じるのですが、その感覚を説明するのは難しいので、少し臨床的な説明になってしまいます。まあ、努力はしているんだけどね。）

[@man-utdtoru]

@@AndrewHartley その努力が凄まじいですよ❗

[@ralfklonowski3740]

Thank's a lot for educating me on these matters. I am a fairly recent BM fan. While the positive message of most of the songs was pretty clear from the start, I never really apreciated the fox god thing. It seemed to be either a clever marketing move (merchandise!) or anime-trained imagination running amuk. Now many things fall into place and i can enjoy the songs even more. Again, thank you for your time and effort.

[@AndrewHartley]

Excellent. Glad to help. Thanks.

[@ralfklonowski3740]

@@AndrewHartley As an afterthought: The Foxhead gesture is known to many German schoolkids as the "Schweigefuchs", lit. "silence fox" or "mute fox". The teacher uses this gesture, usually held up high, as a non verbal signal for the children to be quiet. So, to see it with Babymetal, who are certainly cute, but usually pretty loud, was a strange experience.

[@bleedsmetal]

Well done. Thank you.

[@AndrewHartley]

Thanks for watching!

[@silentdilemma]

I live in the Blue Mountains in Australia. Early one morning a few years ago, I decided to walk to a lookout to watch the sunrise and to my surprise I spotted a fox following me. It literally tailed me from a safe distance for about 20 minutes. I'd walk, and it would walk. Then I'd stop, and it would stop and just watch. I'd never experienced anything quite like it. It wasn't creepy, more like mischievous or cheeky. They're not native to Australia so they're not well liked here, but nevertheless this one left quite an impression. Not specifically relevant to this video but I can see why they play a role in Japanese culture.

[@AndrewHartley]

I love that. Not long after I moved into my current house, I was in the garden when I felt eyes on me. I turned and saw a gray fox standing only a few yards away on the other side of the creek. It watched me silently, even thoughtfully for several minutes, completely unafraid, before slinking into the woods. As you say, it felt magical, primal.

[@KellendirsCorner]

Important takeaways and public safety announcements extracted from this wonderful video: 1) Some foxes are in fact just foxes. 2) Kitsune are kind of like more competent Selkie. 3) Some foxy ladies are more foxy than others. 4) When dueling a fox-wizard, use the number of tails to estimate spellcasting power. 5) I am no longer on the autistic spectrum... I am just a very high functioning fox in disguise. 6) Foxes have mastered the power of syncretism and have been slowly taking over Shinto and Buddhism. 7) The only rational conclusion is that the band is comprised of actual kitsune and I need to go stat out some character sheets for a D&D Babymetal band... This video actually came out at a very surreptitious time as I (after taking a weeks vacation for the launch of Baldurs gate 3) am starting to research the British isles ideas of fox-fire and wisp-light for a research paper, and hopefully a video or two. So it was really nice to see a bit of the Japanese ideas surrounding the mystique of the fox.

[@AndrewHartley]

Yep, good summary :)

[@chinatagebuch]

🤘🦊🤘

[@HS-hl1ji]

As for conclusion of 5., you mentioned ancient. So, do you consider a fox god can be categorized as Jomon Gami like Moreya Gami? Moreya (Jomon Gami) was defeated by Takeminakata (Kunitsu Kami) who was defeated by Takemikaduchi (Amatsu Kami). ところで話は変わりますけど、Babymetalの曲のタイトルにもある“in the name of”ってどういうニュアンスなんでしょうね？ 稲荷神社は勧請されたというより、古来の神であるという視点にちょっと賛成なんですけれども、八幡社とか祇園社は各地に勧請されて広がったそうです。この勧請好きな文化と西洋魔術の要素が結びついて、日本人の召喚好きの文化が形成されている気もします。参考として、maximum the hormoneのhawarari nioku centi (chainsaw man ending3)なんかを視聴されると面白いかもしれません。まあ、召喚されるのは、fox devilなのでなんなんですけれども。

[@AndrewHartley]

Interesting, and thank you for your thoughtful questions. In truth, I don't think I can answer with certainty, but I suspect that the idea of the fox as a god predates documented legends. From what I can see, the tale of Moriya comes from the fourteenth century. My instinct about a fox god is that it would be earlier, before such stories unified as myth or came to dominate a particular region. I am speculating, of course, but I have read about this possibility from Japanese cultural anthropologists. As for "in the name of" it has three functions in English. One is as an oath or exclamation: "in the name of God!" cried out simply for emphasis. The other is as a sincere mark of prayer: "in the name of the father, and of teh son, and of the holy spirit: Amen". Here it calls upon a God or saint to hear what is being said by the petitioner. Thirdly, it is a mark of words or actions done on behalf of someone (real or a spiritual presence) often as an offering or sign of respect. If Hamlet takes revenge on the manner who killed his father, he can say he draws his sword "In the name of" his father. Does that make sense? I apologize for my poor Japanese. I am relying on a machine translation because these ideas are too complicated for my "I would like a beer and a bowl of ramen, please" Japanese :) Thank you again. 興味深い。丁寧な質問に感謝する。実のところ、確信を持って答えられるとは思わないが、狐を神とする考え方は、文書化された伝説よりも古いのではないかと思う。私が見たところでは、守矢の話は14世紀のものです。キツネの神についての私の直感は、そのような物語が神話として統一されたり、特定の地域を支配するようになる以前のことだったに違いないということだ。もちろん、これは推測だが、日本の文化人類学者からこの可能性について聞いたことがある。 in the name of」については、英語では3つの機能がある。ひとつは宣誓や感嘆詞としての機能で、「神の名において！」は単に強調するために叫ぶ。もうひとつは、「父と子と聖霊の御名において：アーメン」という誠実な祈りのしるしである。ここでは、祈る人の言うことを聞いてくれるよう、神や聖徒にお願いすることである。第三に、'in the name of'は、誰か（実在の、あるいは霊的な存在）に代わって行われる言葉や行為の印であり、多くの場合、供え物や尊敬の印として用いられる。ハムレットが父を殺した犯人に復讐するとき、彼は「父の名において」剣を抜くと言うことができる。 意味が通じるだろうか？日本語が下手で申し訳ない。この議論は私の「ビールとラーメンでお願いします」的な日本語には複雑すぎるので、機械翻訳に頼っています :) ありがとうございました。

[@HS-hl1ji]

@@AndrewHartley お返事ありがとうございます。 日本語も大丈夫です、double check出来て幸いです。 洩矢神の文献資料が十分に古く無く、中世の創作である可能性を考慮しないといけませんね。

[@bleedsmetal]

Re: 22:50 A tour please.

[@AndrewHartley]

That's the Fox God Bar in Tokyo. If you are ever in the area, it's a must visit :)

[@tackle47]

Great video, real enjoyed it. Only gripe the music came in BLARING.

[@AndrewHartley]

Yeah, this is a recurring issue. Not sure why it happens. Working on it.

[@tonypate9174]

Do they "bark" and why the "whiskers" ?....maybe only The FoxGod knows but when now hear the "scream" of a urban fox (longer leg in uk) in the still a long dark night just think ....MEGITSUNE...and roll back over to land of dreams and drift away to a world far far away....

[@AndrewHartley]

Indeed. Different cultures record the sound of the fox in different terms. In Japanese it is the "kon kon" sound used in Megitsune. Sleep well!

[@tonypate9174]

"kon kon" And now it makes sense thank you àlways thought far more to the Fly fishing by...than appears now who to ask on why ..."I am the rain" hits me so hard...YOSHIWARA LAMENT...??? Every single time..like the girls that never. "left" reaching out to touch the soul a old grumpy....thanks Beni !

[@AndrewHartley]

@@tonypate9174 Yeah, can't help with that one but I know the feeling. Cheers!

[@IAMisLove]

👍 🦊 🖖 ❤

[@bleedsmetal]

Ps. Love the shirt

[@AndrewHartley]

Thanks! :) www.teepublic.com/stores/ajhartley?ref_id=28179

[@AwesomeKazuaki]

Actually Ebisu is living in my local, so I believe Foxgods Inari that not very good actually.

[@AndrewHartley]

Interesting :)

[@AwesomeKazuaki]

@@AndrewHartley Ebisu is God of business and Inari is God of rich harvest, but some Inari shrine is impinging the jurisdiction of Ebisu. I bought a charm from them but it's really bad charm so I run it over by car.

[@AndrewHartley]

@@AwesomeKazuaki Is this comedy or tragedy? I am not sure :)

[@AwesomeKazuaki]

@@AndrewHartley No, Seriously!! my contracts broke four times in a row. it's very incompatible.

[@AndrewHartley]

@@AwesomeKazuaki You have my sympathy