Fox as "Will O' The Wisp"

1905

Curious Belief That Is Prevalent Among the Japanese

Among the many superstitions of the Japanese there is none more strange or more universal than the belief in the power of the fox to do them harm, and many are the stories told of those against whom this power has been exercised.

The Japanese fox is a pretty creature about two feet long and of a tawny color, and is found nearly everywhere in Japan. The mischievous tricks which foxes are said to play upon the unwary are many, and wonderful are the tales told to awed groups of listeners by those who have been duped by them.

The designing fox usually takes the form of a fairy maiden in order to play tricks upon some unsuspecting wayfarer, and beckons him on until he falls into a ditch or is lost in the mountains. It is almost always at night that the fox goes out to deceive, and those who have met with such adventures say that the only way to know the difference between a real maiden and a fox lady is that the latter is clearly distinguishable, even on the darkest night, the stripes or patterns on her clothing being clearly visible even in the darkness.

It is usually to those who are carrying some article of food that the artful fox appears, with the design of obtaining the dainty, and those who have been through the experience say that a bewildered feeling takes possession of them and they are not able to exert their own wills.