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Su Daji, often just known as Daji, was a malevolent fox spirit in Chinese mythology, popularised and playing central roles in various stories and novels, such as the Ming Dynasty novel 'Fengshen Yanyi'. In the latter novel, the spirit that would become Daji is summoned by the goddess Nuwa alongside two others, Pipa Jing and Jiutou Zhiji Jing, to cause havoc and chaos for King Zhou of Shang after his insult against her within her own temple.<br/><br/> Originally a daughter from the Su noble family, Daji had been promised to King Zhou as a peace prize. While on her way to Zhaoge, the capital city of the Shang Dynasty, she was killed and possessed by the thousand-year-old vixen spirit, who went on to bewitch King Zhou and become his favourite consort. King Zhou became obsessed with her, neglecting his duties to keep her company. King Zhou became increasingly more debauched and cruel in his attempts to please her, with the fox spirit making him torture others for her amusement, inventing myriad methods and instuments of torture.<br/><br/> Daji was blamed for the eventual fall of the Shang Dynasty due to her bewitching of King Zhou. When King Wu of Zhou eventually rose up in revolt with the aid of the resentful common people, he destroyed the Shang Dynasty. Su Daji was caught as she attempted to flee, and was exorcised by nobleman and sage Jiang Ziya, dying eventually.
The Bakemono Zukushi handscroll, painted in the Edo period (18th-19th century) by an unknown artist, depicts 24 traditional monsters that traditionally haunt people and localities in Japan.
Inari Okami, also known as Oinari, is a deity in Shintoism, the <i>kami</i> of foxes, fertility, rice, tea, sake, agriculture, industry and general prosperity. In earlier times, Inari was also the patron of merchants and swordsmiths, and has been represented in various art forms as male, female or androgynous.<br/><br/> Inari is almost always accompanied by white foxes (<i>kistune</i>), who act as his/her/their messengers. Inari's male and female aspects have often been conflated or identified with other Shinto and Buddhist deities, and Inari him/her/themself has sometimes been seen as a collective rather than an individual <i>kami</i>.<br/><br/> Worship of Inari dates back to at least 711 CE, with a shrine on Inari Mountain, although some scholars date worship back to the late 5th century. The <i>kami</i> became more popular during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). Today more than one-third of Shinto shrines in Japan are dedicated to Inari.