One autumn afternoon Yoshifuji, a wealthy businessman, found himself alone in his home, his children having grown and left and his wife gone to the capital of Kyoto on business. Yoshifuji despised being alone, and so was often found in the amorous company of many different women.

Uncomfortable in his large but empty home, Yoshifuji set out for a walk down a country road, hoping to find some fellows to help alleviate his loneliness or perhaps a woman for some companionship.

Soon he spied a beautiful maiden walking his direction on the road. Yoshifuji knew most of the young girls who lived in Kayo County, but she was a complete stranger to him.

“It’s a nice evening,” he called out to her as they drew nearer to each other, making his voice gentle so as to not offend or frighten her. The woman smiled brightly at him, which emboldened him further. “Who are you, I’ve not seen you before. Where are you going?”

“I’m nobody,” the woman said with a laugh. Her voice was sweet and delicate and Yoshifuji found himself completely taken by the girl.

“Come with me,” he said impulsively.

“I cannot, I am going home. But you can come with me.”

“Where do you live?”

“Just over there,” she said pointing. “It’s not far, come with me.”

Yoshifuji readily agreed to her wishes, being so enamored with the young beauty, and together the two walked down the country road together.

Soon a splendid house arose in front of them and it confused Yoshifuji greatly as he had not known of any house so fine in this neighborhood. As soon as the woman at his side spoke however, all thought to the strangeness of an unexpected house left him.

“That is our house,” she said demurely gesturing towards it.

Together they strolled through the main entrance and he found himself being greeted most warmly by all the members of the staff, making him feel like a dear friend visiting their home.

Yoshifuji spent the night in the house, sharing a room with the woman he’d met on the road, thinking he’d never seen one so beautiful as her.

The next morning he revised his thought, she was but a pale comparison to the mistress of the household.

“I am glad you could join us here. There is a Providence in this and I sincerely hope you will stay as long as you wish,” the mistress said that morning.



Yoshifuji would have gone to any lengths to grant the mistress a wish, and that she wished him to stay brought great joy to his heart and he readily agreed to stay as long as she’d let him.

Every passing month, Yoshifuji grew happier. He was never alone with the full household, who seemed unendingly fond of him, and he grew closer to the mistress of the house until one day it was announced she was quick with child. Yoshifuji never knew such joy.

An adorable boy was born and he loved the child greatly, naming him Taro. For thirteen years Yoshifuji doted on his loving mistress and his son, feeling a deep sense of contentedness. No longer did he feel the need to leave his home and seek companionship, no longer did he see the point in searching for a new lover. He had all he’d ever wanted.

One day, a priest with a long staff came to the house. A member of the household gave a sharp cry and called out, “He is here!” The household was thrown into chaos as the family wept and flew in all directions hiding themselves from the priest who calmly walked in through the main entrance.

“My apologies, it seems you’ve frightened my family. Is there something I can help you with good priest,” Yoshifuji asked, startled and confused by the reaction elicited by the priest. He was even more confused when the priest smacked him on the head with his staff.

Yoshifuji fell backwards and though he tried to regain his footing he could not stand, it was as if some force prevented it. The priest, unrelenting began prodding Yoshifuji, hard enough that he crawled as quick as he could, always pushing against the invisible ceiling which pressed down over him.

The priest prodded him towards the front door until he emerged into the blinding sunlight, where suddenly there was nothing preventing him from rising to his feet. He groaned as he did, his back so stiff that he hunched over almost completely and his eyes watering in the light.

When his eyes finally adjusted Yoshifuji turned to accost the priest for his rudeness but was shocked to see, not the rich house he had lived in, but a mere warehouse. One of his own warehouses, in fact, that stood facing his house from thirteen years ago.

Turning back towards the old house, he saw people sitting and talking. After a moment he recognized his two brothers, Toyonaka and Toyotsuné, and his son Tadasada.

Hunched nearly on all fours, Yoshifuji crawled over to his original family and greeted them, though he was deeply confused.

The three men jumped and stood aggressively when the first spotted him but his son cried out, “That is the voice of my father.”

Tadasada rushed down and gingerly helped his father stand more upright. Yoshifuji was covered in dirt and cobwebs and smelled terrible.

“What has happened,” Yoshifuji asked once he had been sat down.

His elder brother Toyonaka, a chief over a subprefecture, scratched his chin in befuddlement.

“You disappeared thirteen days ago brother. We have searched far and wide and prayed night and day to Kanzéon that she may help us find your body! Where were you?”

Indeed, Yoshifuji could see the statue of Kanzéon, the Goddess of Mercy, carved from a huge oak tree where they would have prayed, but he was still confused.

“I’ve not been gone for thirteen days, but as many years. I was living at a splendid house with a woman who bore my child whom I called Taro. Today a priest beat me out of the house.” Suddenly Yoshifuji was struck by the fact that in thirteen years he hadn’t thought of his previous family once, so engrossed in his new life he had been.

“Where is the child father,” his son asked when everyone else in their respective confusions remained silent.

“Down there?” Yoshifuji pointed towards the warehouse uncertainly.

A servant was sent down to the warehouse to humor Yoshifuji more than anything. As the servant approached they were all startled as a family of foxes darted out from under the warehouse and off into the nearby forest.

The servant returned and exclaimed, “You saw the foxes but I was also able to see a depression under the warehouse where my master had slept.”

“A kitsuné must have bewitched our brother. That priest must have been Kanzéon, answering our prayers and saving you from those shape shifting foxes.” Toyotsuné, Yoshifuji’s younger brother, was a priest at a large temple himself and knew of such things.

Yoshifuji was bathed repeatedly and a high priest called in to pray for his recovery from the fox’s spell, and another man came to exorcise evil spirits and purify him, but still, he was not as he used to be. Over time he came back to his senses, but still he was often seen staring longingly towards the warehouses.

TL;DR

Works Cited

Nozaki, Kiyoshi. Kitsuné: Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. The Hokuseido Press, 1961.

Additional Links/Notes

Kitsunés are a Japanese shape-shifting fox who often take the form of beautiful woman. They are considered tricksters but their feelings towards humans can vary widely, from romantic to mischievous to murderous. Among their abilities is the power of illusion, which leads to stories such as this one.

While I plan on telling many kitsuné stories in the future, if you would like to do further reading on them, I highly recommend this site and this site. Both highly reference the book I’ve cited above, which I was lucky enough to get my hands on as an undergrad.



This story was even more interesting because of how specific it’s providence was (according to the book the tale was taken from anyways). Yoshifuji was suppose to have lived in the Kayo County on Bittchu Province in Southwest Japan and the tale was suppose to have taken place autumn of 895. The story was said to have been told by Miyoshi-no-Kiyotsura, a Japanese scholar from the same time period.1