Village Trickster Tanuki

The myth

The tanuki is a real animal, the raccoon dog, and also one of the best-loved figures of Japanese folklore. In tales it is a master of transformation: it puts a leaf on its head and becomes a person, a kettle, a monk or even a tree, usually to play tricks, sometimes to repay a kindness. It drums on its belly on moonlit nights, the tanuki-bayashi. There are villainous tanuki, like the one in Kachi-kachi Yama, and kind ones, like the kettle of Bunbuku Chagama. Shigaraki ceramic tanuki statues, with a hat and a sake bottle, adorn shops as charms for prosperity.

Why it has this power

A Common level-3 Earth Beast with 900 ATK and 900 DEF: equal numbers for one who can be anything. Earth is the village fields and woods; Feather and Fox, the lightness and cunning of a shapeshifter. Fused with a Machine, it becomes Bunbuku Chagama, the tanuki teakettle.

Did you know

In old English books tanuki was often translated as "badger", confusing Western readers for decades.

Connections

• Fuses into: + Machine → Bunbuku Chagama, the Tanuki Teakettle
• In Aiko, Dojo Apprentice's deck

Where to get it

• Campaign drop: Aiko, Dojo Apprentice (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade B: 14% · grade C: 13% · grade D: 13%
• Daily Offering: 0% per pack (Common 64% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 0.97% per pack (Common 70% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.88% per pack · 5.2% in the themed pack (Common 64% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.86% per pack · 5.1% in the themed pack (Common 62% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.67% per pack · 4% in the themed pack (Common 49% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.46% per pack · 2.7% in the themed pack (Common 33% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.69% of days · 150 gold
• Craft with card dust: 40 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. Japanese Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg) — Yei Theodora Ozaki
2. Kachikachi-yama — Folk Legends, Kids Web Japan — Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (Web Japan)
3. Myths & Legends of Japan (Project Gutenberg) — F. Hadland Davis