Realms of Fantasy and Myth: Week 7 - Tanuki

Welcome to the seventh issue of a new weekly news article! I hope you enjoy it, and please, show the featured artists some love and recognition through pageviews, 's and 's!
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This week's creature feature is: Tanuki.


From Wikipedia [link] :

Tanuki is the Japanese word for the Japanese raccoon dog. They have been part of Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.
Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies.


Some "facts" about Tanuki:

• Though often mistaken for a raccoon or badger, a tanuki is actually a type of dog.


• Tanuki are found in several video games, most notably in Super Mario Bros. 3 (the "tanooki" suit) and Animal Crossing, where Tom Nook and his family are tanuki.


• Sadly, real tanuki - raccoon dogs - are often killed for their fur, sometimes in cruel and inhumane ways. For more info on the sales of tanuki fur, click here [link]


• Nov. 8th is the Tanuki holiday because (also from Wikipedia) "the tanuki has eight special traits that bring good fortune. The eight traits are: (1) a bamboo hat that protects against trouble, (2) big eyes to perceive the environment and help make good decisions, (3) a sake bottle that represents virtue, (4) a big tail that provides steadiness and strength until success is achieved, (5) over-sized testicles that symbolize financial luck, (6) a promissory note that represents trust, (7) a big belly that symbolizes bold decisiveness, and (8) a friendly smile."


• Tanuki love sake, a rice wine, and will stoop to mischief to get it. They will trade I.O.U. notes for it (which are never honored), or will sometimes use their shape-shifting powers to temporarily change leaves into paper money to buy it.

Now, for the features! Works are featured from various categories, in no particular order:













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Thank you so much for viewing, and come back next week for a different inhabitant of the Realms of Fantasy and Myth!


~Arah


Previous Issues:
Week 1 - [link]
Week 2 - [link]
Week 3 - [link]
Week 4 - [link]
Week 5 - [link]
Week 6 - [link]