FOXES ON THE ROOF: THE SHAPE-CHANGING ANIMALS IN CHINESE AND JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY
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Abstract
The article deals with some aspects of the mythological conception of shape-changing animals in Chinese and Japanese cultures. In the Far East, such an animal was primarily a fox. This is a character of Far Eastern demonology, belief in which played a tremendously important role in people’s daily and religious life. If in the Western culture a werewolf is a human being who turns into an animal, then in Chinese and Japanese culture it is an animal that can turn into a human being and then resort to deception, mischief and pranks, often not benevolent ones. At the same time, fox spirits could associate with human beings, enter into marriage, and maintain good neighbourly relations with them, so they cannot be considered exclusively as malevolent creatures. Beliefs in foxes and stories on foxes in China and Japan are an integral part of both the literary and the popular religious traditions from the earliest records to modern times. The textual tradition about foxes is inextricable linked to popular religion and other extra-textual traditions of the Chinese and Japanese. At the same time, stories about foxes contain indications of their special connection with the roof as a constructive part of the building. The roof, as a zone that separated the microcosm of the human dwelling from the outside world, had a special importance in the system of housing protection against natural elements and supernatural forces. It was believed that foxes were often present on the roof of the house, causing damage to it and influencing the residents of the house from there. It is there that they choose to appear in animal and human form. Such an appearance could be perceived as a bad omen. In late imperial China, during the Ming and Qing dynasties, disruptions in the domestic environment could be attributed to the mischief of foxes, which could move and throw objects in a manner similar to a poltergeist. One of the most common types of a fox impish haunting was throwing roof tiles. It could be revenge or punishment for bad behavior of human beings. The roof could also serve as a place of worship of deities in the form of a fox, which is observed even today in Japan.
How to Cite
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fox spirits, roof, roof tiles, mythology, folklore, China, Japan.
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