More Tanuki Trouble
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2003 18:13 -0700
Part of my local cable's lineup features news programs from acround the globe, including FCI's news feed from yesterday (or, is it the feed from tomorrow? Time zones can be so peculiar).
Anyway, part each day's show features news about North Korea (and obviously, the wackiness that's going on over there, as shown on North Korean TV). As the date to leader Kim Il Sung II's birthday approaches and as the N. Korean media whip up into a frenzy, they have been mentioning several unique recent events that their Propaganda Ministry use to show KISII's divine right to rule, including news about a white tanuki that was captured near his birthplace earlier this week (it wasn't an albino, since it has dark eyes). Kinda sad when the CIA needs to rely on tanuki for surveillance activities.
Several things I'm curious about are:
1. Just how widespread are tanuki?
2. Did the mythology about tanuki originate from Japan and migrate to Korea after the invasions, are the legends so ancient that they were brought with Japan's first ancestors from the mainland?
3. Besides being a genetic rarity (like black or white squirells in the US), what makes a white tanuki extra-special when it comes to lore?
Anyway, part each day's show features news about North Korea (and obviously, the wackiness that's going on over there, as shown on North Korean TV). As the date to leader Kim Il Sung II's birthday approaches and as the N. Korean media whip up into a frenzy, they have been mentioning several unique recent events that their Propaganda Ministry use to show KISII's divine right to rule, including news about a white tanuki that was captured near his birthplace earlier this week (it wasn't an albino, since it has dark eyes). Kinda sad when the CIA needs to rely on tanuki for surveillance activities.
Several things I'm curious about are:
1. Just how widespread are tanuki?
2. Did the mythology about tanuki originate from Japan and migrate to Korea after the invasions, are the legends so ancient that they were brought with Japan's first ancestors from the mainland?
3. Besides being a genetic rarity (like black or white squirells in the US), what makes a white tanuki extra-special when it comes to lore?