Feb 16 (Japan Today) - Anyone who’s spent time in Japan, will likely have crossed paths with peculiar statues of bug-eyed, slack-jawed animals straddling a pair of gigantic testicles. These jolly critters are tanuki, sometimes known as “raccoon dogs.”
Based on the real animal of the same name, the tanuki of folklore is a good-natured but morally ambiguous creature with supernatural powers. These mischievous animals are not above using their abilities to put a leaf on their head and shapeshift into whatever they want in order to steal the occasional turnip or con people into doing things for them.
In some ways they’re comparable to leprechauns of Irish lore, and similarly seen as symbols of luck in Japan, which is why statues of them can be found all over the place. Perhaps this is also why they recently became the target of theft in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture.
On Feb 1, 74-year-old Kiyoharu Okinishi was caught red-handed stealing a tanuki figure by Takaoka police. Suspecting that he was responsible for another two tanuki statue thefts a month earlier, the authorities searched his home and found a stash of nearly 50 raccoon dogs. ...continue reading
Source: ANNnewsCH
