Episode 206: Irascible Immortals: Kitsune

The folklore of Kitsune in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2026 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about Kitsune here.

Get the transcript here.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Newsletter: https://ronel-the-mythmaker.kit.com/671d4c97de
• Audiobooks of the podcast: https://payhip.com/RonelJansevanVuuren/collection/faeries-and-folklore-podcast-audiobooks
• Irascible Immortals books: https://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series/

Learn more about the author and her writing here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my Irascible Immortals series, available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. They’ve been alive forever. They’ve been bored for some time. And now they’re showing it. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series for more.

We’re continuing our exploration of the Immortals.

Today’s faery: Kitsune

Folklore in a nutshell by Ronel

In popular Japanese tradition, the Kitsune are foxes or fox spirits that can shapeshift and bewitch people. Some believe that the Kitsune can possess a person and that this spirit needs to be exorcised.

The Kitsune can have one to nine tails – the tails show how old and powerful it is. Normal foxes are also Kitsune, they are merely young and haven’t developed their powers yet. Kitsune only grow additional tails after they’ve reached a hundred years. Foxes are found all over Japan (and most of the world). They are cute and small which makes them loved by most people. At first, kitsunes can mix with regular foxes as they are red, too. Kitsunes’ incredible magical powers set them apart from most foxes. And they are immortal. As they grow older, they turn gold and finally, white.

There are two types of Kitsune: the good ones who protect rice field from mice and other vermin, who acts as messengers between the celestial and human worlds, protect humans, and keep evil spirits away.

The second type are wild foxes who delight in mischief. The Kitsune enjoys leading people astray, especially in the mountains, and tricking them to do things like accepting leaf money, eating dumplings that are actually horse dung, or taking baths in substances people rather shouldn’t. They also like to transform into a beautiful woman to beguile men in order to suck the life or spirit from the human. These women can be identified by being alone at dusk or night, and has a narrow face with close-set eyes, thin eyebrows and high cheekbones. This is considered to be attractive features. Some may retain their fox-ears, or fur, or more commonly, their fox-shadow. When not eating humans, they marry them. When the human finds out that his wife is a fox, she has to leave him.

It’s probably best not to harm foxes or talk to women who are alone somewhere at night.

Origin of the fae: Kitsune

Kitsunes don’t allow anyone to know their true names, answering to “The Kitsune” or “Kit”. Most have gone into retirement as humans no longer value their protection or mischief-making. They can appear as humans (in any form, age, gender, etc.) though they prefer to stay in fox-form. The only way to know them apart is their colouring: young Kitsunes are red with a single tail, older Kitsunes up to five tails are gold, and the oldest among their kind (up to nine tails) are white. They sometimes have jewels on them that are different colours, known as Kitsune gems, and are believed to be their souls – though that is just something to augment their powers. They are immortal and move between realms easily.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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