A Kitsune of Two Worlds

There once lived a young samurai in the outskirts of Kyoto. It was the time of Feudal

wars and harsh emperors. The samurai returned from an extended campaign against a

warring nation and was awarded his own plot of land for excellence showed during

combat.

On this humble plot of land the samurai grew meager field of rice and a hand full of other

vegetables to live off of.

The samurai was always quiet and he rarely spoke to anyone. He worked alone in his

fields every day. He rarely left his home and only done so when he was in dire need of

something he could not grow or make himself. The only other exception was when he

took a break to visit his own small Inari shrine he built himself after being given the land.

The Emperor found out about his plans and graciously donated a blessed statue created

by a skilled artisan. A small gathering of Shinto priests presented the statue to the young

samurai and gave their blessings and prayers to the shire.

One late night the samurai was working out in the field well after dark. The sound of

foxes yipping in the distances gave a comforting feeling to the samurai as he tilled the

fields.

The full moon was directly over head giving the samurai ample light to see by. The

samurai became drowsy and was about to head inside for the night. An odd noise caught

the attention of the samurai and he was fully awake in an instant.

With hand on the hilt of his sword the samurai slowly approached the noise, and

discovered the sound was a half whimper, half cry. As he slowly approached he caught

sight of a beautiful young woman slumped on the ground.

The moon illuminated a small puddle of red, casting it in an eerie glow. At once the

Samurai carefully scooped up the woman and brought her inside his home to bandage her

wound.

The young woman thanked the samurai graciously but could not walk on her leg for a

few days. She claimed a rather nasty man did this to her and she barely escaped with her

life.

For the next couple of days the samurai cared for the woman and changed her bandages

as needed. The samurai would go out to tend the fields and the young woman would

quietly watch unable to do anything else until she could walk again.

The young woman felt oddly drawn to this samurai and each day she watched him

carefully. She has never felt so strongly about anyone before, and each day she enjoyed

being around the samurai.

Once the young woman could walk again the Samurai asks: “Where do you live? Do you

have a family to return to?”

“I…. No… I have no where to live... and no family to call my own.” The woman replied

in a sad tone.

The samurai also felt sad for this woman, and asked her if she would like to be taken into

Kyoto and possibly enter into the services of the emperor. She shook her head no, then

slowly looked up at the Samurai. “I… rather stay here with you…I am an excellent fisher,

and I can help you with the fields as well.”

The samurai didn’t know what to say. He was delighted at the fact that he had some

company now and if she was as good as fishing as she claimed that, he would no longer

need to live off of just rice and vegetables.

The next day the Samurai accompanied the young woman to a nearby river and watched

her closely as she created a crude spear to fish with. She slowly entered into the cool

water with her spear held high. She took a few deep breaths, just listening to the water

around her. She carefully watched the water until a fish swam near her. In one swift

motion she speared a fish with her crude fishing rod.

The samurai was deeply impressed, he tried his and at fishing before but was never

successful at it. That night they dined on fish and rice, afterwards the samurai took the

young woman to the small Inari shrine and the woman smiled deeply at the sight. Both of

them left an offering to Inari and said a small prayer.

The samurai realized that he was in love with this woman and he confessed his feeling to

her. She also admitted she had feelings for the young samurai and within the next day the

two married each other.

For the next few months things ran smoothly. Each day was a blessing for both of these

people and they lived life without a care in the world. Each day seemed to be better than

the previous one for these two, until one fateful night.

For no reason the samurai’s wife was crying inside their home’s kitchen for no apparent

reason. The samurai asked what was the matter and his wife replied that she was with

child.

The samurai was overjoyed and asked why she was crying. She refused to answer him

and continued to cry. The Samurai was extremely dismayed at her behavior and didn’t

know what to do.

The two retired for the night and both slept restlessly. At some point among the night the

samurai was awoke to the sound of his wife crying again. He quietly entered into the

kitchen again and in the dim light, He could have sworn he seen fox ears on his wife’s

head. As the samurai approached a beam of moonlight shone inside, and shown the

samurai without a doubt his wife was really a fox.

The young woman noticed her husband and ran swiftly out the door continuing to cry.

The samurai called after her but she kept on running. He ran after her as she raced

through the fields.

She stopped at the Inari shrine to catch her breath. She desperately prayed to Inari to take

away her fox body permanently so she could continue to live with the samurai. Clouds

uncovered the full moon and bathed the area in a white glow. The light revealed that she

was not alone, and what stood near the shrine was not a human but another fox.

This fox’s sent was familiar to the vixen, and she slowly approached the other fox. The

male fox said “Wife, you mustn’t fear, I was always like you, and you do not need to be

afraid any longer.”

The two returned home once again and lived out their lives as carefree as before. The

continuing days they shared was filled with even more happiness. They lived the rest of

their days in with paramount joy.