The dry-clothed badger of Tosa

Overview

Mitford’s “The Prince and the Badger” places the encounter in the youth of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo, a forefather of the Prince of Tosa. Returning from fishing in heavy rain, Kadzutoyo and a retainer find an apparently sixteen-year-old woman weeping beside a remote road. She says she fled an abusive stepmother and was halted by painful illness. The retainer is captivated, but Kadzutoyo kills her. Her account of parents and an aunt is part of the disguise; it is not established as the animal’s actual family history.

The retainer reports what seems an unprovoked murder. Kadzutoyo’s father condemns it as incompatible with a samurai’s duty to protect people, and threatens his son’s life. The boy insists that the victim was a goblin and offers to accept punishment if the body proves human. In the morning they find a large decapitated badger. Kadzutoyo explains that he too saw a woman, but her dry clothing contradicted the claim that she had been waiting in the downpour. He interprets the trick as an attempt to obtain their catch of fish.

The tale ends with the father admiring his son’s judgment and abdicating in his favour. That resolution belongs to the literary story, not an independently verified political biography or an endorsement of violence against a suspicious stranger. The discovered animal body confirms deception within the plot, whereas its precise intention is explained by Kadzutoyo. Mitford gives no separate Japanese species-name or fixed supernatural anatomy in this account.

Origins & earliest records

Japanese tale in Mitford’s English collection; individually named narrator not given.

Records & interpretation

Complete named account, ending, relevant footnotes and collection preface read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Tales of Old Japan

   A. B. Mitford (Lord Redesdale) · 1871; hosted1910 edition

   The Prince and the Badger, pp.224–226 andnote83; entire narrative and attached notes read.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Historical English translation and retellingMitford, Tales of Old Japan, complete named witnessResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.