The tanuki is my favorite creature in Japanese folklore because of what it chose to do with shapeshifting powers. Kitsune are elegant and ominous; tanuki mostly turn leaves into fake money, impersonate teapots, and throw parties. It's a trickster with no malice: mischief as a lifestyle, a straw hat, a bottle of sake, a wink. Statues of them stand outside shops all over Japan promising good fortune to anyone who doesn't take themselves too seriously. As a lifelong reader of myths where everything wants to eat the hero, the tanuki is a relief. Chaos, but friendly.

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