Tanuki

I saw my first live tanuki the other night. I was riding home along a dark backstreet near my place when something large dashed across the road in front of me. At first I thought it was a huge cat, but it had an oversized rear end and a stubby tail. Below is a picture of a real tanuki and a picture of one of the many common tanuki statues around Japan (usually in gardens or in front of restaurants). Tanuki have a rich folklore history and are said to love sake, often changing into human form to drink, and paying for it with money that turns out to be just leaves. Real tanuki apparently do have large testicles, though not to the exaggerated extent they are depicted with! Their balls represent fertility and good fortune, and are said to be the source of their magical powers. They are associated with wealth because the Japanese collquial word for testicle is kindama, which means golden ball. A schoolyard song about them roughly translates as: "Tanuki's testicles swing back and forth even when there is no wind blowing."

Tanuki are also very popular in Japan today, appearing in computer games, TV adverts, and cartoons such as Pon Poko (pictured below).