I present to thee: TANUKISHI!!! Aka Yuiishi except he’s a Tanuki Yokai aka a bakedanuki 🗿

this is a japanese raccoon dog, also known as tanuki. they are pretty much the cutest things ever ever ever and behave like raccoons in the way that they are nocturnal and they eat garbage but they're actually a part of the canidae family which include things like dogs, wolves and foxes whereas raccoons are more closely related to mustelids which include things like badgers, otters and weasels. the animal by itself is very interesting and adorable and fun to learn about, but you know what's better ? you know what's absolutely the best thing about them ? THE FOLKLORE.

bake-danuki is a type of yōkai commonly associated with tanuki. they're known to be mischievous tricksters, and one of their abilities is to shapeshift. there's a saying that goes, "the fox has seven disguises, the tanuki has eight." kitsune are also known to transform and shapeshift, but they're known to shapeshift to tempt people ... tanuki ? they just want to see you look STUPID. like a complete FOOL. their whole deal is just to fuck with you and i think that's hilarious. okay okay but anyway, you wanna hear about the best part ... right ? you wanna hear about the best part right ???

they can shapeshift into people yada yada yada yes that's very cool but their more interesting thing that they're known for ? THEIR GIANT BALLS. they are known to stretch their fucking balls for various reasons.

they've been known to use them as sails for boats, fishing nets, umbrellas, cloaks, etc. it's mostly in art and not talked about in stories as much, but i just think it's the funniest god damn thing. they say that metal workers needed something that could stretch without breaking in order to hammer down gold to make it as thin as possible. apparently, tanuki balls started being sold as wallets and charms, said to stretch your money as it did the gold.

also a fun tidbit that i didn't know was that animal crossing's tom nook is based on tanuki, not a raccoon ! (and tom nook ... tanuki ... ah ...) anyway ! look into tanuki/bake-danuki if you want (i highly suggest it because as funny as it is, it's also just very cool)

it’s yokaitober! i knew i wouldn’t be able to commit to a drawing every day so i’ve done one per week!