Fictional thought exercise

[chipotle]

In a setting that is an alternate version of feudal Japan, with races of anthropomorphic animals instead of humans but no other (overt) magic and myth, what would it mean for a fox-person to be a kitsune?

Comments

[kynn.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe they'd be trees that take the shape of (furry) people.

I guess part of the question involves what role animals play in this world you're imagining. Is it like Goofy/Pluto, where both are dogs, but one is sentient and considered a person, and the other semi-sentient and considered a pet?

Is there a relationship between (furry) people and the animals they resemble? Are they thought of as ancestors, as descendants, as cousins, or as just beasts? Do anthropomorphic cows run Chick-Fil-A franchises? :)

That question probably has to be answered before you can answer what you call a kitsune. Is a "fox" a furry person who looks like a fox, or a normal fox animal? And then you can move on to whether "kitsune" means fox people, spirits, fox animals, or something else. I'd like to hear some more background about what you mean.

In my opinion, the "alternate, furry [something]" is the sticking point here, and how you define that will inform the rest of the answers.