The foxes who shave Tokutarô in Mitford’s tale

Overview

Mitford’s How a Man Was Bewitched and Had His Head Shaved by the Foxes follows Tokutarô, a carpenter at Iwahara in Shinshiu. At a feast he ridicules stories of fox enchantment and accepts a wager: he will cross Maki Moor at night without being tricked. Seeing a fox run into bamboo and then encountering a headman’s married daughter, he assumes that the woman is a disguised animal. He accompanies her to her parents’ home while pretending to accept her appearance.

The apparent household becomes part of his ordeal. He tells the parents that their daughter is a fox and insists on exposing it. His violence seems to kill her, yet no tail appears. The parents bind him and threaten to report the killing. A priest from Anrakuji then arrives with attendants. Tokutarô begs for rescue, and the priest secures apparent forgiveness on condition that he become a disciple. The parents demand immediate ordination, and the priest and acolyte shave his head.

Laughter breaks out as dawn arrives. Tokutarô finds himself alone on the moor, with the household and ceremony gone. He initially wonders whether he dreamed the experience, but his head really is bald. Returning to the feast, he tells the story and removes his head covering. His companions laugh and collect the promised fish and wine. The ending goes further than the exposure of a trick: Tokutarô never lets his hair grow again, renounces worldly life and becomes a priest called Sainen. The narrative does not independently establish a killed woman outside the deceptive experience.

The selected 1910 print of Tales of Old Japan preserves a preface dated 1871. Its final attribution invokes Shôminsai and a reported local observation; note 77 identifies him as author of Kanzen-Yawa, the book from which the story is taken. This is a mediated literary witness, not Mitford’s verified eyewitness account or a freshly collated Japanese original. The foxes’ elaborate deception belongs to this episode. It supplies neither a fixed number of foxes or tails nor evidence that the story inspired a particular Digimon scene.

Origins & earliest records

Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, later Lord Redesdale, Tales of Old Japan. Retained title prints 1910; complete preface dated London, January 7, 1871. How a Man Was Bewitched and Had His Head Shaved by the Foxes, pp. 209–213. No original Japanese edition collated.

Records & interpretation

Complete named tale, ending and relevant attached notes read, with complete Concerning Certain Superstitions introduction and title/preface. Note 77 identifies Shôminsai as author of Kanzen-Yawa, the source book. No exact event date or independent verification of his claimed observation.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Tales of Old Japan: How a Man Was Bewitched and Had His Head Shaved by the Foxes, pp. 209–213

   Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford / Lord Redesdale · Retained print 1910; preface 1871

   Note 77 identifies Shôminsai as author of Kanzen-Yawa, the source book. No exact event date or independent verification of his claimed observation.

Family, evolution & connections

References

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

1. Historical English literary witnessMitford, retained original English collection, PG13015Research access: 2026-10-26

Image credits

AI-generated interpretation of Tokutarô’s initial fox encounter near the bamboo grove. The fox, carpenter and dusk setting follow Mitford’s tale; coat, clothing, buildings and landscape details are artistic choices. The image does not reproduce the later deceptive household scene.

One story-specific literary fox encounter, not a universal kitsune appearance or a Digimon design.