The Tanuki and Bakeneko in Japanese Folklore Collections

Record summary

Japanese folklore collections and regional surveys from the early twentieth century preserve stories of tanuki and bakeneko changing shape, impersonating people, producing illusions, or entering domestic spaces. These traditions are identifiable through Japanese terms and regional variants, making them useful for comparison with fox transformation narratives. The lead refers to a body of documentary material rather than one singular incident. Researchers should locate a specific pre-1946 collection, prefectural survey, or folklore journal item and separate older oral motifs from modern commercial and literary imagery.