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?

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From Another Angle...

[vulpesrex.livejournal.com]

Quote:

"...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?"

After reading all the other fine responses and views offered here, and after re-reading your question in light of those views, I think that it is a question which Anthro Artists have been dealing with since Furry Fandom started creating graphic art.

A standard convention has more or less been established, by artists such as Theresa Mather and Ruben Avila, and which I've seen used commercially at least once - the cover illustration for Kij Johnson's "The Fox Woman" - is to depict an anthro-vixen in a Kimono, holding a white face mask, usually with a woman's face design. In MAther's case, it is most prominently seen in her paintings "Secret Sisterhood" and "Fear No More", the latter in which a weeping kitsune vixen, revealed as she drops her mask, is comforted by a lord - who has dropped his, revealing himself to also be a kitsune. MCA Hogarth may have also used this "dropped mask" trick.

At last year's FURther CONfusion Ruben Avila, who does sculpture, had a set-piece called "Confronting the Kitsune"; it was set on an oval, split across the narrow part by a small stream, with a small "moon" bridge crossing it, with stone statuary lanterns depicting demons standing left and right of the bridge. On one side the land is clear, on the other is a copse of dense bamboo. On the clear side is a Cat samurai archer, on the bamboo side is a fox figure in a portion of a kimono.

Lying on the bridge - on the clear, samurai side - is the outer coat portion of a kimono, with an arrow sticking from the upper left shoulder, and a spot of blood. Also on the ground is a white mask, molded in the features of a Cat face, and a long flute. The bridge itself is bristling with spen arrows, or rather parts of those arrows, for many have been split in mid-air by a sword which the kitsune, standing on the opposite bank, has been using, along with a folding fan, for defense. Blood trickles down the left arm of the kitsune, who has a fierce, desperate grimace on his face and in his eyes. It appears as though the Kitsune was fired upon from a distance, and has retreated across the bridge, with the samurai, approaching, closer and closer, until only the bridge separates them. At this close range, there is almost no chance of missing, and the arrow will span that short distance in too short an interval for the kitsune to bring up the sword and split the arrow; on the other hand, there is only one arrow left in the quiver - and there is something about the nature of those lanterns, and that copse of bamboo, which suggests an "Ichabod Crane / Headless Horseman" enchantment to the bridge, which may prevent the samurai from crossing.

As Anthro Sculpture setpieces go, this was rather large and quite stunning in detail, considering all that Ruben had to create by hand; I got it for minimum bid as the artshow was closing, have spent uncountable hours studying, and sought out Ruben at another convention to talk about it.

The point is - here is a fox in a world of other similar anthro animals, but the only way to distinguish between it merely being another person/animal and something uncanny and perhaps malicious is the use of an external prop - and if one isn't familiar with the context of that prop, from other artwork in this genre, then you have no idea at all as to what is happening, or why.

So perhaps - if you wish to use a Spirit Fox or Celestial Fox sworn to Inari's service or whatever you wish to call upon, rather than just simple, ordinary foxes, - you will need to make it clear with either the overt use of a prop in an illustration, or in writing a non-fox character who doesn't quite ring true, with a noticable flaw in the illusion - which I think is the main manner in folklore whereby Fox Wives are revealed and chased out of villages. Very few of the folktales I've seen are told from the point of view of the fox/kitsune, anyway - and these start with the kitsune as a fox, who later transforms into a person.