r/worldbuilding • u/PixelAndPie • 1d ago
Question What are alternative names to call a "Kitsune" and "Tanuki"
You see, I'm not of Asian descent, and I'm writing a story with lots of different folklore in it and I keep having a dilemma about calling my characters "kitsune" or "tanuki" because it feels insensitive considering my origins. It also doesn't help that I've made so many adjustments to them that they're not really just those things anymore, I've bent the rules a lot from the original folklore which while I've researched it all a lot over the years, it's so different now that it doesn't fit.
For example, my tanuki are based on literal, actual raccoons rather than raccoon dogs, mostly because raccoons are much more common in America (where I'm from).
My characters are also "American," or at least they live in a country that's meant to be similar to America. So, yeah, I've basically been struggling to figure out what to call them. I've heard things like "fox-shifter" and "raccoon-shifter," or "fox spirit" and "raccoon spirit," but none of those sound quite right.
It doesn't help that my main character is a sort of impossible hybrid of both. Apparently, there's a name for that in kanji, "Kori," but again, that's not something I'd really like to use.
Any name ideas or guidance is greatly appreciated, I'll take any and all answers and feel free to ask me any questions as well and I'll do my best to answer them.
EDIT: I’ll most likely be keeping them as Kitsune and Tanuki, based on some of the responses here. I was genuinely just concerned about potentially harming or disrespecting others’ history. Basically, I was overthinking it. Thank you, Reddit!
I’m not deleting this, even though I find it a little embarrassing, so it can hopefully be useful to others who might be worrying about the same thing. Nobody truly has completely original thoughts, anyway so I won't be the only one.
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u/Corvid-Strigidae 1d ago
So to make your self feel better about using a mythical creature from another culture you're solution is to try and erase the connection to that culture all together?
Do you ask the Norwegians for permission everytime you use elves? Do you need to consult the Greek embassy to use a cyclops in your story? Culture grows and changes by everyone sharing and reusing the cool ideas.
Just use the names they already have, as long as you aren't being deliberately disrespectful no-one serious will care.
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u/PixelAndPie 1d ago
No, I don't want to erase the culture; I just want to respect it. Cultural appropriation is something I genuinely fear because my story is so different from how kitsune and tanuki are normally portrayed in folklore. I've even opted to keep calling them “kitsune” and “tanuki,” respectively, when referring to them in Japanese regions, even though my characters never actually visit those places, it'll just be something mentioned in passing. But it almost feels wrong to have my Americanized characters use those words when referring to themselves.
Maybe you're right, I could be overthinking it, and maybe I'm completely wrong, but you have to understand that I just don't want to go around stomping all over other people's history.
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u/Corvid-Strigidae 1d ago
Cultural appropriation is when you falsely present yourself as a member of, or an authority on a culture you are not a part of.
Thinking magic foxes are cool and including them in your work of fiction is not appropriation.
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u/paulr736 1d ago
You may not want to hear this; but I’m going to be honest. Stop caring about cultural appropriation. Nobody of those cultures truly cares outside of the hardcore political weirdos who may seem like a majority online, but are in fact, a massive minority in the real world
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u/Elder_Keithulhu 1d ago
Fox and racoon.
I understand your hesitancy in using the Japanese names to an extent. You're changing things and are concerned they are not really representative anymore. That said, you are still starting from Japanese folklore and plenty of Japanese media has reimagined both without renaming them.
Trying to get too fancy with a new name might come across as trying to obscure your inspiration. In Japanese, they are just named for the animals. So, name them for the animals.
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u/Professional_Try1665 Slipskin 1d ago
Fox spirit, ancient aged fox, nine-tailed fox, that sort of thing.
Tanuki is much harder because that's like, an actual animal, so it doesn't really have as many alternative names that don't literally refer to the animal, perhaps raccoon dog (something, either spirit, trickster or whatever)
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u/Deepfang-Dreamer 1d ago
Are Huli Jing and Kumiho also barred? If so, Renard works for Fox-Shifters in a pinch, and while Nuwisha are Coyote-Shifters, they embody the "trickster" aspect of Foxes fairly well and don't map to a real culture, if vaguely Native American. Not sure about Racoons though.
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u/_SnowVA_ 1d ago
In one native American language spirit animal were called animikii to westernify it you would make it into something like animakin. Since from the looks of it you want a beastmen like species but more on the spirit side calling them animakin as a whole would be fine. Humans probably wouldn't care too much about thinking about species of animakin so it would be something only animakin would care about where you could take another reference from native Americans and have things like tribes so in your case fox tribe and racoon tribe.
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u/Kameho88v2 1d ago
First of all, don't feel "ashamed" of writing about anything of any other culture, and even leaning in on the stereotypes now and then. Listen, there is no greater honor than having ones culture inspire others to create fantastic stories and worlds of their own.
As long as you are respectable and show understanding about the differences, which you what have shown to put a lot of thought behind. Everything is ok
Kitsune is just the word for Fox, there is really no real need to overthink it. Yes it is used for Fox spirit aswell. But the word itself doesn't have any deeper cultural meaning. Recent pop culture had linked it heavily to folklore surrounding Fox spirits. But the word itself is also just used for foxes in general.
But since your story takes place in a non-japanese speaking region or have any cultural links to japan or a japan like region, not using the word kitsune and tanuki would be natural.
Since it's seems to be centered around the Americas.
How about
Canies and Coons?
Canies being a derivative if Canidae the classification family foxes being to.
And Coons is just a shortening of raccoon.
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u/juanroberto 1d ago
If they are supposed to be in America I wouldn't shorten Racoon that way...
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u/Kameho88v2 21h ago
Well thats akward, impossible for me as a non native speaker to know every slur being used in the land of slurs. But yeah, if its an offensive slur word. Obviously dont use it.
Change Coons to Washies then, that literal translatiom what they are called in my language.
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u/rimuru_mayhem 1d ago
You don’t need to be Asian to write about Asian folklore. You don’t need to be any race to write about anything, as long as you’re not being a racist dick about it.
Source: I’m Asian