Here's a curious item, to be found in Shokoku Kidan, a work of Edo Period Japan (1600-1868).

If you look on a map of northern Japan, you can see the inland city of Morioka just north of Sendai and south of Aomori.

Just north of Morioka is a plain, about 12 miles square, famous for the marvelous manifestation of the fox regiments.

During the Edo period, people from Morioka would pack picnics and come to the plain. There they might see 20 or 30 foxes, gamboling in the grass, engaging in shape-shifting contests with each other.

Encouraged by the spectators, the foxes would collaborate with each other to form the shape of a castle. The gates of the castle would open, and a mounted company of two hundred foxes resplendant in armor would ride forth.

At the height of the performance, the foxes would imitate the stately procession of a feudal lord, such as the Daimyou of Tsugaru making his progress towards Edo, replete with palanquins, banner-bearers, and attendants of all sorts.

This phenomenon is reported in the Shokoku Kidan, a work of the Edo period. It's referred to as "kitsunetai" (fox regiments).

Your humble correspondent,

David Olson (dadadharma@aol.com)