By Cat Eldridge: The nine-tail fox arose in Chinese mythology and spread throughout Asian mythology as the Chinese culture dominated that region. She occurs in genre fiction most notably in Jon Courtenay most excellent Grimwood’s 9 Tail Fox. And the Hellboy animated film Hellboy: Sword of Storms has him being aided, maybe, by anine-tailed fox spirit (kyūbi no kitsune). 

It is a perfect little sleeping nine-tailed fox, barely an inch and half across, the second one that I got. The first I received, from the Ukraine, is far too dark to make out the details of that creature when looking at from a distance. Not so here. The eyes, the slightly open mouth, the nostrils, the feet, the ears — all in their exquisite fine details are completely visible here as I look at her. 

Interestingly the nine tails, and they are also perfectly crafted, are for some reason darker than the rest of her. (All of my of foxes are females, eleven so far, plus two among my seventy houseplants are considered female.) I assume the Chinese artist where it came from or ceramic caster had a reason for this, and it’s not really distracting. I think it’s a different ceramic. 

It actually was intended as a good luck charm for one taking tea so it was near you when you do so. And here she is. 

Oh, she does have two eyes. I’ve no idea who the right one doesn’t show here.