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What is in a name?

Today I joined Thoughts.com because I want to share my thoughts and knowledge with the global community. I want to pass on all I know to as many people as possible before I die. Information is the key to the future of the human race, and in order to prosper to our full potential then that information must not be restrained by the chains of politics or prejudice. I have much hope for this website and I believe it will turn into an entity of great value, one where everyone is free to express him or herself as they see fit.

I chose "Kitsune" for my username, and for good reason. I will provide background information to my chosen username, which is taken from the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia:

Kitsune (pronounced kit-soo-nay) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others - as foxes in folklore often do - others portray them as faithful guardians, friends and lovers.

Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has - they may have as many as nine - the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

There is debate whether the kitsune myths originated entirely from foreign sources or are in part an indigenous Japanese concept dating as far back as the fifth century BC. It is widely agreed that at least some fox myths in Japan can be traced to China, Korea, or India. Many of the earliest surviving stories are recorded in the Konjaku Monogatari, an 11th-century collection of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese narratives. Chinese folk tales tell of kitsune-like fox spirits that may have up to nine tails. In Korea, a Kumiho (literally nine-tail fox) is a mythical creature that has lived for 1,000 years. Differences exist; for instance the kumiho is always depicted as evil, unlike its benevolent Japanese counterpart.

Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yokai, or spiritual entity, and the word kitsune is often translated as fox spirit. However, this does not man that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes gain supernatural abilities.

There are two common classifications of kitsune. The myobu are benevolent, celestial foxes associated with Inari; they are sometimes called Inari foxes. On the other hand, the wild nogitsune (literally field foxes) tend to be mischevious or even malicious. Local traditions add further types. For example, a ninko is an invisible fox spirit that human beings can only perceive when it possesses them. Another tradition classifies kitsune into one of thirteen types defined by which supernatural abilities the kitsune possesses.

Physically, kitsune are noted for having as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful fox; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tales after it has lived 1,000 years. One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folk stories. When a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold. These kyubi no kitsune (nine-tailed foxes) gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales attribute them infinite wisdom (omniscience).

A kitsune may take on human form, an ability learned when it reaches a certain age - usually 100 years, although some tales say 50. As a common prerequisite for the transformation, the fox must place reeds, a broad leaf, or a skull over its head. Common forms assumed by kitsune include beautiful women, young girls, or elderly men. These shapes are not limited by the fox's age and gender, and a kitsune can duplicate the appearance of a specific person. Foxes are particularly renowned for impersonating beautiful women. Common belief in medieval Japan was that any woman encountered alone, especially at dusk or night, could be a fox.

In some stories, kitsune have difficulty hiding their tails when they take human form; looking for the tail, perhaps when the fox gets drunk or careless, is a common method of discerning the creature's true nature. Variants on the theme have the kitsune retain other foxlike traits, such as a coating of fine hair, a fox-shaped shadow, or a reflection that shows its true form. Kitsune-gao or fox-faced refers to human females who have a narrow face with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Traditionally, this facial structure is considered attractive, and some tales ascribe it to foxes in human form. Kitsune have a fear or hatred of dogs even while in human form, and some become so rattled by the presence of dogs that they revert to the shape of a fox and flee. A particularly devout individual may be able to see through a fox's disguise automatically.

One folk story illustrating these imperfections in the kitsune's human shape concerns Koan, a historical person credited with wisdom and magical powers of divination. According to the story, he was staying at the home of one of his devotees when he scalded his foot entering a bath because the water had been drawn too hot. Then, "in his pain, he ran out of the bathroom naked. When the people of the household saw him, they were astonished to see that Koan had fur covering much of his body, along with a fox's tail. Then Koan transformed in front of them, becoming an elderly fox and running away."

Other supernatural abilities commonly attributed to the kitsune include possession, mouths or tails that generate fire or lightning (known as kitsune-bi; literally fox-fire), wilful manifestation in the dreams of others, flight, invisibility, and the creation of illusions so elaborate as to be almost indistinguishable from reality. Some tales speak of kitsune with even greater powers, able to bend time and space, drive people mad, or take fantastic shapes such as a tree of incredible height or a second moon in the sky. Other kitsune have characteristics reminiscent of vampires or succubus and feed on the life or spirit of human beings, generally through sexual contact.

Inari's Kitsune are white, a colour of good omen. They possess the power to ward off evil, and they sometimes serve as guardian spirits. In addition to protecting Inari shrines, they are petitioned to intervene on behalf of the locals and particularly to aid against troublesome nogitsune. Black foxes and nine-tailed foxes are likewise considered good omens. Kitsune keep their promises and strive to repay any favour.

It is my hope that in my relatively short lifetime I too can be a humble creature of great benevolence and piety. I think my username reflects what I wish to become, at least on a metaphorical level.

I believe that information, wisdom, truth, whatever you wish to call it, is the one gift that is truly free. I will never gain the knowledge of a nine-tailed fox, but I will do my best to pass on whatever knowledge I do gain to future generations. I believe if we all do this the human race will prosper greater than ever before.