{"id":1507,"date":"2018-10-26T15:24:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T19:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2018-10-26T15:27:56","modified_gmt":"2018-10-26T19:27:56","slug":"kitsune-lore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aimeeeasterling.com\/?p=1507","title":{"rendered":"Kitsune lore"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kitsune\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I can’t actually remember what was going through my head a year ago when decided that my next protagonist was going to be a kitsune — a Japanese fox shifter. I think I was perusing lists of traditional shifter types and stumbled across this unfamiliar being with so many fascinating traits.<\/p>\n

Despite that gap in my memory, I do<\/em> know where I did most of my research. Come and Sleep<\/a> is an easy-to-read and surprisingly far-reaching summary of kitsune folklore, ranging from the silly pranks in some stories to the almost selkie-like tale of a female fox who learned to shift for love of a human man but was unable to maintain the illusion so had to leave her family or die.<\/p>\n

\"Kitsune<\/a><\/p>\n

Kitsunes are reported to marry on rainy days under sunny skies. They’re boundary creatures, who belong to neither world but visit both. Sometimes they’re vampiric, using sexy times to steal a man’s yang power. Other times, white-furred kitsunes are divine messengers of the rice\/wealth goddess who come to earth to punish wild trickster foxes (identifiable by their red fur).<\/p>\n

I didn’t end up using all of that lore in my Moon Marked series<\/a>, but I did incorporate the two-edged sword of kitsune gratitude. If you help a kitsune, they’ll be indebted to you…but if you aren’t grateful for their assistance they might react quite badly indeed.<\/p>\n

How about you? Have you read any kitsune-related stories you enjoyed? If so, I hope you’ll use the facebook link to comment below!<\/p>\n