Youkai/yokai -usually translates to demon, a supernatural entity. They are not always evil, some are good, some bad & most just are. Demons in general like to keep to themselves & stay far away from humans…unless they have a bizzarr curiosity. According to the famous demon Hakutaku (aka Bai Ze) was encountered by the Yellow Emperor while he was on patrol in the east. The Bai Ze dictated to Huang Di a guide to the forms and habits of all 11,520 types of supernatural creatures in the world, and how to overcome their hauntings and attacks. The emperor had this information written down in a book called the Bai Ze Tu (白澤圖). In reality, this book unfortunatly no longer exists, but many fragments of it survive in other texts.
Kitsune -a “fox” spirit. Has the power to shapeship, cast illusions & spit blue fire called fox fire (kitsune-bi). They are famous for their seductive abilities, transforming into very attractive woman & few cases, men. They are quite mischeivous, some are evil but more are either good or neutral. One can tell a kitsune in human guise when peering at their refection in the water- revealing a foxes tail! They hate & fear dogs, thus if a kitsune see’s or even hears the bark of a dog it’ll imediatly reveal it’s true form as a fox & run! A Kitsune’s illusion cannot be broken, unless if a preist or monk appears.
Kyubi no Kitsune -”nine tailed spirit fox”. Has the same powers as a kitsune but much stronger. They have 13 powerfull magical abilities, persumably the famous abilities of the Doubutsujin. It is said that the kitsune will gain a tail ever 100yrs thus by 1,000 they have become a kyubi. However, that’s not all of it- for them to get an additional tail, they must learn & study the world to eventually reach enlightenment. They take the kitsune tests- a competion amongst fellow kitsune to see who is most deserving of gaining a new tail. The importance of the tails shows off their power, age & status…but they can loose a tail if they sin against the kitsune codes.
Juu Shi -The 12 animal gods of the asian zodiac. The 13th god is nekogami, the cat.
Oni -”Ogre” common in many myths & legends. Usually potrayed as a 12 ft to a 3 story tall humanoid creature with red or blue skin. They have 1-2 horns on their head, carry a wooden club & wear tiger skin loin-clothes. They can be good or evil.
Ryu/ Tatsu -”Dragon” I don’t think that needs any explaining…everyone knows what a dragon is. ^^;
Kirin -the Japanese unicorn. It has the head & fanned tail & scales of a dragon, cloven hooves of a deer & single horn that’s pushed back on it’s head (rather than forward like the European unicorn, the classic white one). The Kirin is said to be the 2nd most powerful beast next to the Dragon (dragon is always the #1 strongest).
Onna-sama -”The Lady” refering to the leader & mother of all kitsune. She is special because she has 10 tails. All other kitsune seek her approval & judgement for them to recieve a new tail & reach enlightenment…but to do so, they must follow her orders.
