The story of the monster tanuki

   Even though it's the beginning of autumn according to the calendar, it's getting hotter and hotter. I envy people who don't have fur.
   Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Tanukimori Doroshuu and I run Takasago Tanukiya.
   Whether this is your first time meeting us or not, we look forward to meeting you.
 Now that I've introduced myself, some of you may have already noticed that I am, in fact, a raccoon dog living among other people.
 Since I have been given the opportunity to write this article, I would like to start by telling you a story about raccoons.
   First of all, when you hear the word "raccoon," what image comes to mind?
 They may be just a decorative raccoon dog that often sits in front of a store, or they may be a wild animal that roams the mountains and fields, and sometimes even through the city.
 However, what I would like to talk about today is the monster known as the bake-tanuki.
 They are also called baketanuki, old tanuki, demonic tanuki or mysterious tanuki, but they are often depicted as beasts or as personified tanuki, and a wide variety of stories have been passed down from various lands.
 The thing that the tanuki monster does is transform and disguise itself, hence the name "baketanuki". (Of course, there are also stories about them possessing people and causing curses, but that's a story for another time...
 There is a saying that "a fox can take seven different shapes, a raccoon dog can take eight different shapes," and it is actually said that raccoon dogs have a greater ability to take different shapes than foxes.
 So, let me get started with today's story, a story about such a shape-shifting raccoon.
 This is about Shibaemon Tanuki, who is also mentioned in the Edo period collection of strange tales, "Ehon Hyaku Monogatari."
 The name can also be written in kanji as Shibaemon.
 The story has also remained in various forms, so this time I would like to tell you the story of Shibaemon Tanuki from "Ehon Hyaku Monogatari."

 Once upon a time, there was a farmer named Shibaemon in Awaji. An old raccoon dog would often come to his house looking for leftovers. Shibaemon felt sorry for the raccoon dog and would leave some of his food for it.
 One day, Shibaemon asked the tanuki to "try disguising yourself as a human", and the tanuki turned into a man of about fifty years of age and started visiting Shibaemon. He told Shibaemon various stories, including ancient events and useful information. As a result, Shibaemon became knowledgeable and was well-liked by the people.
 One day, a play by Takeda Izumo, which had become popular in Kyoto, came to Awaji and was being performed, and the raccoon dog that had been visiting Shibaemon also disguised himself as a human and went to see the performance.
 On the way home, he was attacked by a dog and died.
 However, after dying he remained disguised as a human and did not reveal his true form for about half a month, and it was only after twenty-four or twenty-five days that he finally returned to his original tanuki form.

 It's a shame that someone would be attacked by a dog on the way home after going to the theatre...
 Oops, excuse me.
 Well, it's quite an incredible tanuki monster, as even after death his mask remains and he continues to fool people.
 By the way, this raccoon has a good disguise, but what do you guys think?
 Hmm? You look confused as to what's going on.
 That's what I think.
 I think humans are much better at disguising themselves and tricking others than raccoons or foxes.
 Do you also have some kind of clever disguise that you can use to fool people?
 Hehe, it seems you have an idea...
 If so, please be sure to bring along a good disguise like Shibaemon Tanuki. Otherwise, all your hard work will be for nothing. Please be careful.

 Well, see you again next time.