  Click picture to ENLARGE. Doll Tanuki 10.5" High Tanuki (狸 or タヌキ, Tanuki) is often mistakenly translated as raccoon or badger, but tanuki are in fact raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), a canid species native to Japan. Tanuki have been part of Japanese mythology since ancient times. The mythical tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded. Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a "promissory note" (a bill it never pays), or sometimes an empty purse, in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have a large belly, and contemporary sculptures may or may not show them with the traditional large testicles. These exaggerated features represent fertility and plenty. Called Kin-tama (Golden Balls) in Japanese, the testes are supposedly symbols of good luck rather than overt sexual symbols (the Japanese are more tolerant of low humor than most Western nations)...as written from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. |
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