{"id":19708,"date":"2018-06-01T12:12:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T11:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/?p=19708"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T12:32:09","slug":"tanuki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/01\/tanuki\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering the Japanese Tanuki on Miyajima Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Like this post? Help us by sharing it!<\/h4><ul class=\"wpfai-list\"><li class=\"wpfai-list-item facebook\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708&amp;t=\" title=\"Facebook\" class=\"wpfai-facebook wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-facebook fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item twitter\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708\" title=\"Twitter\" class=\"wpfai-twitter wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-twitter fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item pinterest\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708&amp;description=&amp;media=\" title=\"Pinterest\" class=\"wpfai-pinterest wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-pinterest fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item linkedin\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708&amp;title=\" title=\"Linked In\" class=\"wpfai-linkedin wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-linkedin fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item envelope\">\r\n      <a href=\"mailto:?subject=&amp;body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708%20-%20\" title=\"E-Mail\" class=\"wpfai-envelope wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-envelope fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item stumbleupon\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stumbleupon.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708\" title=\"Stumble Upon\" class=\"wpfai-stumbleupon wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-stumbleupon fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><li class=\"wpfai-list-item reddit\">\r\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.insidejapantours.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F19708\" title=\"Reddit\" class=\"wpfai-reddit wpfai-link wpfainw\">\r\n        <span class=\"fa-stack fa-lg\">\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-square fa-stack-2x\"><\/i>\r\n          <i class=\"fa fa-reddit fa-stack-1x fa-inverse\"><\/i>\r\n        <\/span>\r\n      <\/a>\r\n    <\/li><\/ul><p>Travel consultant <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/RachelRykala\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rachel Rykala<\/a>\u00a0lived in Japan for years and has arranged countless holidays, so when it came to the popular (and picturesque) Miyajima Island, she thought she knew it inside out. On her last trip though, she made an unexpected new friend: the Japanese <em>tanuki <\/em>(raccoon dog).<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_11546\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11546\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11546 size-medium-plus-size\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-510x383.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-564x423.jpg 564w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-390x293.jpg 390w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Miyajima.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-11546\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Miyajima is most famous for its <em>torii<\/em> gate<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p>\u201cQuick, quick, come see the <em>tanuki<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toshi, the owner of the inn I was staying at on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/japanese-destinations\/miyajima\/\">Miyajima<\/a> Island came rushing over to me with such excitement on his face I felt compelled to follow him. He led me out to his garden and there they were, just a few metres away from me, <em>tanuki<\/em>!<\/p>\n<p>I knew nothing at all about the <em>tanuki<\/em>, I had lived in Japan for a few years, but I was based on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan\u2019s four main islands. I had never heard of these \u2018raccoon dogs\u2019. Granted they were beautiful, but my inn owner\u2019s extreme enthusiasm intrigued me\u2026 why so much excitement?<\/p>\n<h2>Tanuki are native to Japan<\/h2>\n<p>The majority of Toshi\u2019s foreign guests had never seen <em>tanuki (racoon dog)<\/em>, I could tell he got a huge sense of satisfaction to be able to introduce them to us. I took a lot of pictures!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-half-width wp-image-19719\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-720x540.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-564x423.jpg 564w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-390x293.jpg 390w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>White Tanuki are rare<\/h2>\n<p>Although brown and black <em>tanuki<\/em> can be spotted all over Japan, white <em>tanuki<\/em> are particularly rare and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/japanese-destinations\/miyajima\/\">Miyajima Island<\/a> is one of the few places they are regularly spotted. Toshi was particularly pleased to have regular visits from a family of <em>tanuki<\/em> that included a bright white mother.<\/p>\n<p>So why did they keep returning to Toshi\u2019s garden? Apparently, they like cat biscuits!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-half-width wp-image-19720\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-720x540.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-564x423.jpg 564w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-390x293.jpg 390w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/3-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>They have an unusual depiction&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p>The Japanese aren\u2019t as shy as us Brits when it comes to our body parts. In Japanese folklore the <em>tanuki<\/em> or raccoon dog has been depicted as a male character with a gigantic scrotum. There are many cartoons and stories widely known in Japan that are centred around this! It is said that the <em>tanuki<\/em> can stretch his ball sack to the size of 8 tatami mats, not sure I believe that\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-half-width wp-image-19723\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4-720x535.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4.jpg 720w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4-564x419.jpg 564w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4-390x290.jpg 390w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/4-510x379.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The bigger the scrotum, the more luck it brings!\u00a0It is not uncommon to see <em>tanuki<\/em> statues outside businesses and homes all over Japan, they are especially popular on Miyajima Island. If you have been to Japan its highly likely you have seen one of these statues.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium-plus-size wp-image-19710\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/5-510x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"510\" height=\"680\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/5.jpg 510w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/5-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/5-423x564.jpg 423w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/5-390x520.jpg 390w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I shall leave you with a very short well-known <em>tanuki<\/em> \/ racoon dog song:<\/p>\n<p><em>Tan-tan-tanuki&#8217;s balls<\/em><br \/>\n<em> even if the wind isn&#8217;t blowing<\/em><br \/>\n<em> swing<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Just when we thought there was nothing about Japan we didn&#8217;t know&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>For more information on visiting Miyajima Island (and spotting some white <em>tanuki<\/em>!), <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/contactusJapan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">get in touch with our team<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-half-width wp-image-19714\" src=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-720x540.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-564x423.jpg 564w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-1200x900.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-900x675.jpg 900w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-390x293.jpg 390w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1-510x383.jpg 510w, https:\/\/insidejapan.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/7-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Like this post? 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Help us by sharing it! Travel consultant Rachel Rykala\u00a0lived in Japan for years and has arranged countless holidays, so when it came to the popular (and picturesque) Miyajima Island, she thought she knew it inside out. On her last trip though, she made an unexpected new friend: the Japanese tanuki (raccoon dog). [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2357,2360],"tags":[1874,2165,3593,3780],"class_list":["post-19708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japanese-wildlife-and-environment","category-travellers-tales-from-japan","tag-miyajima","tag-tanuki","tag-wildlife-in-japan","tag-japanese-tanuki"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19708"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34862,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19708\/revisions\/34862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insidejapantours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}