In a Western forest, when you see lights drifting over your path and beckoning into darkness, you might call them a will-o’-the-wisp. And you should know better than to follow them.
If you should see them in the Dead Marshes, you really should not follow them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPrJSRMr2Uc
If you see these lights in an Eastern forest, they might be hitodama (a sort of soul fire from the dead) or kitsune-bi (foxfire). And while neither is malevolent like the little candles of the Dead Marshes, they do merit caution.
Kitsune-bi is a floating ball of fire, burning cool and often blue-green. It is manipulated by foxes and is commonly seen during fox processions, during kitsune gatherings or events.
Stationary foxfire as described in Western folklore is caused by bio-luminescent fungus. The Japanese version was reported to actually travel, more like the Western will-o’-the-wisp. It is much less commonly seen now, perhaps even never. It has been suggested that the extensive logging of the twenty-first century destroyed the native forest phenomenon caused the floating luminescent spheres. We may never know what natural cause provided centuries of supernatural folklore.
One time when kitsune-bi was supposed to occur was during a fox wedding procession. During the Muromachi period (a little after the time of Naka no Yoritomo and his household), a bride was escorted to her husband’s home by a lamplight parade. It was an easy leap to suppose that kitsune did the same, supplying their own light.
Another marker of a fox wedding was a sunshower, or rain falling from a clear, sunny sky. When this occurred, it was said that a fox was marrying.
I have read that Masaoka Shiki, a very influential poet of the late twentieth century, wrote:
“When rain falls from a blue sky, in the Hour of the Horse, the Great Fox King takes his bride.”
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to verify that this poem is indeed from him. Your input is welcome, if anyone can help me out!
The day that Kitsune-Tsuki was released, a sunshower occurred at my house. Cool, huh?
