Unsettled Business
In Japan, then, the dakini is understood to be a fox spirit, a were-fox. At the shrine Chiba-Narita, there is a Dakiniten festival held in February.
Tamamo-no Mae is the Japanese name of a mysterious female tantric adept who at one time was the consort of an Indian king. Later, she became the concubine of Emperor Toba (1103-1156,) but she was believed to actually be a nine-tailed golden fox. When the Emperor suddenly fell sick with a serious illness, she was blamed. It is said that when her true identity was discovered, she sprang into the air and flew off to the Plain of Nasu where she was shot by the archer, Miura Kuranosuke. (Some say she was struck by the "hammer" of one of the gods.) When she fell to earth, she assumed the form of a rock subsequently known as sessho seki or the death stone, for any living thing that came into contact with it died.
" ... the play called "Tamamo no Mae asahi no tamoto" written by three playwrights for the puppet (joruri) theater and first staged in 1751. It was later revised and restaged in 1806 in Osaka, and it is the latter version that is better known today. ... a good synopsis of the play is in The Bunraku Handbook by Shuzaburo Hironaga, Maison des Arts Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 1976, pp. 369-373 ... .
Lady Tamamo is a nine-tailed fox who kills a young woman of the Emperor's court, assumes her identity, and gains employment as a lady-in-waiting. She soon becomes the Emperor's favorite concubine, but then later joins a prince who plots to dethrone the Emperor and agrees to use her supernatural powers to aid him. When the Emperor becomes ill, the chief astrologer of the court accuses her of having an evil influence and causing the illness.
Tamamo no Mae survives the trial, but later during a prayer to assist the Emperor, the astrologer cleverly uncovers her true identity. She then takes back her fox form and flees. During her escape Tamamo no Mae assumes various forms (a country girl, a masseur, a god of thunder, a man, a street girl, a courtesan, and once again Lady Tamamo
Doctor Yukiharu, you are needed in ER.
"Damn."
"So this is your life now, huh?" The silver-haired young man asked as he looked out the window of the Japanese hospital, out into the Tokyo landscape.
"Vietnam changes one, Tanaka." Standing up, the auburn-haired doctor glanced back at the man in the black business suit.
"...you seem to be forgetting that you are not just a saintly doctor. You were once Ninja, like I am. In fact, you were more feared than I was at one point."
"We are not in the Past anymore, Tanaka. This is a time where you HAVE to accept change."
"And may I remind you, Kenshirou, that you have to learn from the past and accept it first, BEFORE you welcome change." The silver-haired Yakuza jolted around, staring into his brother's amber eyes with cold, dark black eyes. "And what makes you so Inari-damned sure that killing one in surgery is not as bad as killing one in a Ninjutsu fight?"
"You don't understand, Tanaka! Brother! Don't you realize that I am trying to save lives!?"
"....and this differs from you Ninja duties how again, Kenshirou? In surgery, you may try to save their lives, but they still die, don't they? In a ninja duel, they die, you live. Everything in your life has death in it, Kenshirou. Not only is that the path of the ninja, but it is also the path of the White Fox. Need I remind you that your fur is snow white?? A sign of Calamity!"
"....."
"Pick your battles wisely, Kenshirou." Tanaka scoffed and looked at the window, sliding odd shades on his face.
"....at least you didn't Dox yourself into mutation." Kenshirou muttered disdainfully as he slammed the door.
"...I don't need you to remind me what I am now, dear brother...." Tanaka hissed, then looked at the window.