List of Relevant Works

For more than a millennium, the fox has been a ubiquitous figure at the margins of the Japanese collective imagination. In the writings of the nobility and the motifs of popular literature, the fox is known as a shapeshifter, able to assume various forms in order to deceive others. Focusing on recurring themes of transformation and duplicity in folklore, theology, and court and village practice, The Fox's Craft explores the meanings and uses of shapeshifter fox imagery in Japanese history. Michael Bathgate finds that the shapeshifting powers of the fox make it a surprisingly fundamental symbol in the discourse of elite and folk alike, and a key component in formulations of marriage and human identity, religious knowledge, and the power of money. The symbol of the shapeshifter fox thus provides a vantage point from which to understand the social practice of signification.

Shifting Shape, Shaping Text analyzes the fox koan from the Wu-men kuan collection, where Zen master Pai-chang liberates a reincarnated fox who once denied karmic causality. Steven Heine examines the philosophical implications of this koan, particularly regarding causality and karma within the Ch'an/Zen tradition. He also explores its ethical dimensions, its connection to monastic codes in Sung China, and its ties to folk religion. Through this lens, Heine sheds light on the challenges faced by Zen Buddhism, particularly the concept of antinomianism and the perspectives of influential figures like Dogen.

In her exploration of supernatural themes in Ming and Qing China, Rania Huntington emphasizes the significance of foxes as shape-shifting creatures that challenge societal boundaries regarding species, gender, and metaphysics. Representing both seductive succubi and ideal wives, foxes embody a duality that reflects their status as both alien and commonplace in the late imperial Chinese imagination. Huntington's work delineates how foxes reveal and violate various boundaries—narrative genres, domestic versus external spaces, chaos versus order, and human versus non-human identities—while also addressing the evolving perceptions of these boundaries over time. As morally ambivalent "middle creatures," foxes exemplify a complex interplay between the earthly and the celestial, highlighting the societal tensions surrounding class, gender, and sexual relations.

The best known Chinese stories written about fox spirits are those written by Pu Song-ling [蒲 松 齡], in a collection known as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio or Laozhai zhiyi [聊 齋 誌 異] made in the late 17th century. 

The Luban Shu, or Book of Luban, holds significant cultural and practical importance within the Chinese-speaking occult community, akin to the Key of Solomon in Western magic. This ancient text is a collection of spells and magical principles related to feng shui, designed for well-educated practitioners, or fangshi, who were often local magicians. Unlike orthodox religious texts, the Luban Shu allows individuals to explore personal pathways to power without strict adherence to traditional doctrines. It emphasizes the integration of oral traditions with written teachings, providing practical guidance on cultivating spells and understanding their complexities. This text serves as a resource for scholars and practitioners alike, encouraging a deep engagement with its teachings, initiation rituals, and the inner work necessary for effective spell-casting. Ultimately, the Luban Shu embodies a living tradition that connects practitioners to the spiritual and natural world.

Some people think foxes are similar to ghosts because we go around collecting qi, but nothing could be further than the truth. We are living creatures, just like you, only usually better looking . . . New York Times bestselling author Yangsze Choo brilliantly explores a world of mortals and spirits, humans and beasts, and their dazzling intersection. Epic in scope and full of singular, unforgettable characters, The Fox Wife is a stunning novel about old loves and second chances, the depths of maternal love, and ancient folktales that may very well be true.

My partner found this book for me when we were upstate, and The Fox Flower Method had just hatched. I was wearing my yellow Maison Kitsune crewneck, stitched with a small fox patch, at the time.

One of the first papers in English on Chinese Fox Myths was read by Thomas Watters before the April 1873 meeting of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society at Shanghai. Watters was a British consular official who had been stationed at Takow (Takao, Kaohsiung) in 1866 and was to return to Taiwan later in the 1870s. In his paper Watters discusses the two major perceived characteristics of the fox [狐狸, hu-li] according to Chinese beliefs: its exceedingly long life, and its great preponderance of Yin [陰], the female portion of things. The life of the fox, through its craftiness, was believed to extend to 800 or 1,000 years, and he could even achieve immortality. As a result, temples and shrines were built to the Fox-genius [ 狐仙廟]. The fox's accumulation of Yin is due to his nocturnal habits and this enabled the fox to easily assume the guise of woman. Further, as the fox naturally wishes to have a well-balanced constitution, it looks to gather Yang [陽], the male element, wherever it can. Thus is created the powerful myth that the fox-spirit must prey on the life-force of men in order to achieve longevity.

The Fairy Foxes: A Chinese Legend is a reprint of the original 1895 edition of a Chinese fairy tale. 

Translating to “strange apparition,” the Japanese word yōkai refers to supernatural beings, mutant monsters, and spirits. Mischievous, generous, and sometimes vengeful, the creatures are rooted in folklore and experienced a boom during the Edo period when artists would ascribe inexplicable phenomena to the unearthly characters. Japan’s Miyoshi Mononoke Museum in the Hiroshima Prefecture houses the largest yōkai collection in the world with more than 5,000 works, and a book recently published by PIE International showcases 60 of the most iconic and bizarre pieces from the institution.

Encompassing a range of mediums from painted scrolls and nishiki-e woodblock prints to kimonos and metalworks, Yōkai is a massive volume of 500-plus pages of colorful illustrations, paired with text by author, collector, and curator Koichi Yumoto. The book reproduces rarely seen works by artists like the renowned ukiyo-e printmaker Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, showcasing the pieces in incredible detail and contextualizing their role in the broader tradition and art history.