The Tanuki

As Reynard drifted off to sleep, belly full of rabbit, I returned to my resting place as well. Reynard had passed his first test. He was no ordinary fox indeed. I would have to be more creative. Then at once, it came to me and I rose up. Reynard slumbered deeply as the winds of change began to move him once more. Cold mountain air filled his nostrils and he began to stir.

“Again? Blast, where could I be this time?” he wondered?

He had seen snow many a time in his home, but this snow he did not know, nor this mountain. He set out to discover where he might be. Traveling along a nearby path, Reynard came upon a tea kettle in the middle of the road.

“Now who would leave a perfectly good kettle out here?”

He grabbed the kettle and threw it into his pouch, but as he walked, something began to move in his bag! He threw it down at once and out came a small beast. The beast was short, fat, and furry, and it danced around as if its energy would never cease.

“Who are you, creature?” Reynard asked curiously.

“I am Trickster Tanuki! Who are you?” the Tanuki replied.

“I am Reynard the Fox, greatest Trickster of them all!”

The Tanuki laughed. “You claim to be some great trickster but can you even trick the eyes?”

Reynard was confused until the Tanuki changed rapidly into a tea kettle, an elephant, and even into Reynard himself before changing back.

The Tanuki cried, “I am Tanuki, shapeshifter and greatest Trickster in Japan.”

Reynard was astounded. He knew that he must learn how the Tanuki changed form so easily. He began to think and then said, “Great Tanuki, I come from another land where we have never seen the likes of a trickster so great. Please, I am hungry and you must be too. I would love to speak with you more but first we should find some food, no?”

The Tanuki conceded and so Reynard and Tanuki plotted as to how they might find food for the both of them. Tanuki came up with a solution first. He would feign death and have the fox carry him into town to sell his hide. Then, after the money had been exchanged, he would find a way to escape. This worked perfectly and continued to do so for many months. Reynard trained as Tanuki’s disciple and learned the ancient art of shapeshifting. It seemed as if the two would remain friends tormenting the towns of Japan forever until one day, an argument broke out.

“Fox, you have learned much in your time here. You are now a master shapeshifter, but never forget that I am the Greatest Trickster,” boasted Tanuki.

“Is that so?” Reynard questioned. “Well then, I suppose we ought to fashion a competition to decide.”

Tanuki agreed and they began to ponder how best to determine who could trick best. Tanuki told Reynard that he would go and wait for him at the Great Red Bridge. He told Reynard that he could come in whatever shape he would like and that he would be able to see right through it. Reynard accepted this challenge and waited for Tanuki to depart. Once the beast had reached the bridge, Reynard crept quietly into some brush from which he observed the Tanuki. He knew there was no way he could out shapeshift the shapeshifter, so instead, he took the form of a young boy and ran to one of the guards at the nearest castle. He cried to the guard and told him that a foul demon had taken his mother from him near the great bridge. The guard summoned his garrison and began marching toward the bridge. When Tanuki saw the guards, he leapt out in front of them and yelled, “Great attempt, young Fox, but alas …”

And before he could finish, the guard had grabbed the Tanuki by the scruff of the neck and thrown him into the river below. Completely unable to swim, the Tanuki drowned and never bothered anyone again.

From the bushes, Reynard’s smile crept wider and wider.

“I, Reynard the Fox, am the greatest Trickster of all.”

And I laughed.

No ordinary fox indeed. Perhaps he is prepared for his final test.

Author’s Note: This week I wanted to complete the quasi – world tour of tricksters. Reynard comes from Europe, Brer Rabbit from the Americas, and now the Tanuki, from Japan. I thought this would be a great character to include, injecting a bit of the mythical into the story. I used many of the characteristics of the Tanuki and plot elements from “How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished,” to create this story. The Tanuki in that story is presented as a malevolent trickster. He uses nearly the same trick as he did with Reynard to earn money, except in the original story, the fox is his wife and he eventually sells her for real to earn more money. His son then trains and challenges him in the way I had Reynard challenge him. In the original story, the king and his guards just happen to be passing by, but I thought Reynard should have a little more involvement in besting the Tanuki. It was not too complicated to replace the original fox with Reynard, and I wanted to have part of Reynard’s journey be to learn from another trickster. I liked the idea of apprentice and master training in the mountains of Japan, and I thought it might make for some interesting plot development to have Reynard learn the art of shapeshifting.

Image Information:

Banner: Fuji through Cherry Blossoms (Source)

Illustration 1: Tanuki (Source)

Illustration 2: Beautiful Japanese Bridge (Source)

Bibliography

Story Source - The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Selected Stories - The Magic Kettle and How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished