In my sophomore year at Miami University, one of my professors, Dr. Tom Romano, challenged us to create a multi-genre research project for our major assignment. After a brainstorming exercise, I decided to focus on the fox spirit legends of Asia, specifically those of China, Japan, and Korea. As I worked on the project, I found that I had a lot of fun, and I poured passion into my work. I was quite proud of the final project. So proud, in fact, that I decided to expand this project into my Creative Writing Honors Thesis. I felt that there was so much more I could do with it.
Over the span of several years, I learned a lot about the fox spirits, using various books and websites in my research. Those of Japan and China can be benevolent as well as malicious, and foxes in Japan have even been elevated to the status of gods. However, in Korea, fox spirits are wicked creatures who prey on humans. Many stories have been written about them, and in Japan, they have made their way into popular media such as television shows and comic books. These fictional fox spirits have attracted many fans. In fact, the inspiration for this project comes from a surprisingly male fox spirit character named Kurama, from Yoshihiro Togashi’s manga and anime entitled Yuu Yuu Hakusho. This manga author and artist based his story on traditional Japanese legends, but gave them a modern twist and created a unique and fascinating character through his ingenious imagination. I would like to dedicate this project to Mr. Togashi and his wonderful character, as well as the many fans of fox spirits all over the world. Without them, this thesis would not have been created.
As I stated earlier, my thesis incorporates many genres, including short stories, poems, flash fiction, articles, letters, and even a table comparing and contrasting the fox spirits of each country. I have divided the thesis into three sections: China, Japan, and Korea. Before each section, I have provided a short introduction to the fox spirits of the section’s country. In addition, I have also included a “Dear Reader” introduction. Some genres were harder to write than others, but in the end, I am satisfied and proud of my work. I incorporated many voices not normally seen in fox legends, such as the voice of the fox, which is normally female, but I decided to use the male fox as well.
I also dedicate this thesis to Dr. Tom Romano and Dr. Susan Kay Sloan, my thesis advisor, for helping me to make this project the best it could be by offering helpful feedback on my work that allowed me to make crucial revisions.
One day, it is my hope that this thesis will be on bookshelves, as a handy guide to readers. This is the essence of my work—a fox spirit field guide. May it be of use to all of those who want to learn about these fascinating and mysterious creatures.