Bittersweet Good-byes

So lately I've been reflecting on my time here in Japan. As my tour-of-English-duty draws to a close, I have started an informal list of things I will miss about Japan. Thus far, the list mainly consists of arbitrary, superficial things. For example, Japanese bento (pre-made lunch boxes), convenience stores/vending machines on every corner, frogs croaking in the rice paddys at night, different Hello Kitty charms for every major city....and the list goes on...

However one thing that I will gladly say goodbye to (and, in fact, will rejoice at never having to lay eyes on again) is the haunting sight of the tanuki lingering in dark doorways of restuarants and bars here in Japan. These tanuki, at once both pervasive and elusive...one never knows when one will be confronted by the rat-like snout, those souless eyes, those giant....testicles....

Anyway, before I continue, here's a bit more explanation about the tanuki:


TANUKI:
Magical Racoon-like Dog with Shape-Shifting Powers; Modern-Day God of Gluttony, Boozing, and Restaurateurs

Tanuki appear often in Japanese folklore as shape-shifters with supernatural powers and mischievous tendencies. Tanuki statues are found everywhere around Japan, especially outside restaurants and bars, where the Tanuki beckons drinkers and diners to enter. The beckoning Tanuki is most often depicted with a big round tummy, gigantic testicles, a flask of sake, a promissory note, and a straw hat.

There are countless tales about the mischievous Tanuki. The Tanuki can transform into any living or inanimate shape, but in legend it often assumes the form of a monk or a tea kettle to play tricks on people. Tanuki is most often shown playing tricks on hunters and woodsmen. They can cast powerful illusions -- they can turn leaves into fake money or horse excrement into a delicious-looking dinner. The Tanuki is said to love Japanese sake (rice wine), and is often depicted with a sake bottle in one hand (usually purchased with fake money made from leaves) and a promissory note in the other (a bill it never pays).

A curious and defining characteristic of Tanuki is its gigantic testes. According to some legends, the testicles / scrotum can be stretched to the size of eight tatami mats. Others point to the word Senjojiki (the space of 1,000 tatami mats) as an indication of the Tanuki's testes size. Called Kin-tama (Golden Balls) in Japanese, the testes are supposedly symbols of good luck rather than overt sexual symbols (the Japanese are more tolerant of low humor than most Western nations). In the movie Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko, the Tanuki stretches out its scrotum as a parachute in a desperate suicide attack. In other Tanuki folklore, the Tanuki uses the testes as an impromptu drum, beating out the "ponpoko" sound.

The tanuki in all his glory:

A line of tanuki in front of a restaurant

My brother-in-law, Dave, worshipping at the shrine of Tanuki.

It's really quite hideous (however I should apologize to all acutal tanuki out there. Having never seen a real one in nature, my only experience with the tanuki is the statues...in reality they could be quite cute....but I'm guessing probably not...) Another curiosity regarding the tanuki is the amazement and enthusiastic interest in them from most men who visit Japan.

Well...maybe it isn't such a curiosity...a gluttonous, drunken raccoon dog with giant testicles? What's not to love?