The shape-shifting raccoon dog of Japanese folklore is the tanuki.
Tanuki is the Japanese name for the real Japanese raccoon dog, while bake-danuki refers to its supernatural folklore form. In legends, the bake-danuki can transform into people, objects, or other creatures and may use its magic either mischievously or generously.
The creature appears in Japanese literature as early as the Nihon Shoki, compiled in the eighth century. Later stories describe tanuki deceiving travelers, disguising themselves, possessing humans, or rewarding people who treat them kindly. One famous tale, Bunbuku Chagama, features a tanuki that transforms into a tea kettle and performs for its owner.
Tanuki are often confused with raccoons because English translations sometimes call them “raccoon dogs.” They are neither raccoons nor domestic dogs: the real animal is a distinct canid native to East Asia. They are also different from kitsune, the fox spirits whose shape-shifting legends overlap with tanuki stories.
Modern popular culture has spread the image worldwide. Studio Ghibli’s 1994 film Pom Poko features transforming tanuki, while Nintendo’s Tanooki Suit draws on the creature’s traditional magical reputation.