In Japanese folklore, the shapeshifting raccoon-dog yōkai is called a bake-danuki.
Bake-danuki are supernatural versions of the Japanese raccoon dog, or tanuki. Folktales commonly portray them as clever shapeshifters who disguise themselves as people, monks, household objects, or other animals. Their transformations may be playful, mischievous, or occasionally helpful.
The word tanuki can mean the real animal as well as the legendary creature, while bake-danuki more specifically emphasizes its supernatural nature. This distinction is often missed in popular accounts. Bake-danuki are also frequently confused with kitsune, another famous shapeshifting being; kitsune are fox spirits, whereas bake-danuki are based on raccoon dogs.
Modern Japanese restaurants and shops often display round-bellied tanuki statues carrying a sake bottle and a promissory note. Those statues reflect a later popular image and are not themselves a complete description of the older folklore.