Kitsune no Yomeiri

On a day when the sun shines bright and the rain falls, wise parents advise their children to play indoors. It isn’t that they are worried about them catching a cold. No, it is something more mysterious. For on such days the kitsune, the magical foxes of Japan, hold their wedding processions.

From Sakurai city in Ibaraki prefecture to Kashihara city in Nara prefecture, tales of Kitsune no Yomeiri appear all over Japan— with the sole exception of the northern island of Hokkaido. Most stories follow similar patterns with only slight variations. There are two phenomena referred to as Kitsune no Yomeiri—the bizarre weather called sunshowers where rain falls in broad daylight; and the procession of foxfire, called kitsune-bi (狐火), winding through the mountains late at night.

For more information about Kitsune no Yomeiri or other Japanese Yokai and Folktales, visit these two websites! 

- hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19…
- yokai.com/
 
The characters are Zenko Shin and Umkeo for an upcoming story I'm working on about Japanese folklore and mythology. 

~Chrissy