A big Tanuki outside - what's inside?

[MoGa]

The association doesn't seem to be consistent amongst the Japanese and those who live there.

For my husband, and from my own personal observation (probably partly influenced by him) a large statue of a tanuki outside a property generally indicates a soba or soba/udon restaurant.

But I've learned that other people associate big tanukis with places that serve alcohol.

I'm very curious to know what sort of premises other people expect to find when they see a large tanuki by a doorway. (I'd also love to know why)

[Hiroyuki]

Personally, I don't associate a tanuki figure with any type of restaurant. It's simply placed at the front of a restaurant to attract customers.

As I mentioned somewhere else, my mother likes tanuki figures because of their big "balls".

You can learn about tanuki figures from here, if you haven't searched for one.

[MoGa]

Personally, I don't associate a tanuki figure with any type of restaurant.  It's simply placed at the front of a restaurant to attract customers. 

As I mentioned somewhere else, my mother likes tanuki figures because of their big "balls".

You can learn about tanuki figures from here, if you haven't searched for one.

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Unfortunately, I learnt about tanuki quite late on, even though I've been interested in and was familiar with many Japanese folk tales since childhood. The reason is the decision by many translators to magically transform tanuki for English readers so we learned about badger tea kettles, yet the concept of actual tanuki was deemed too difficult or perhaps too far fetched to introduce to us

Even in Japan, tanuki stories get neutered. They are famous for drumming, "pom poko pon", children are told that they make this sound by slapping their stomachs. As the article linked to says, it's their scrotums they use for drums in the old stories (I'm quite fond of their big balls too, as you can imagine, none of the Japanese 'badgers' had them either) .

My favourite tanuki story is amongst Kunio Yanagita's (kind of like the Japanese Brothers Grimm) collection.

A farmer goes past a tanuki's hole and sees the entrance overgrown with weeds and debris. He takes the time to cut away the overflowing vegetation and clear the area and calls in cheerfully "Brighter now, isn't it?" before continuing his way.

Soon afterwards the farmer returns from the fields to his home. The door has been ripped away and, inside, he finds his once furnished house is bare. From outside a voice calls in "Brighter now, isn't it?"

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Interestingly, the writer of the tanuki link also mainly associates large statues with drinking establishments.

Edited April 26, 2008 by MoGa (log)

[Hiroyuki]

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Interestingly, the writer of the tanuki link also mainly associates large statues with drinking establishments.

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We often see tanuki figures holding a tokkuri (sake bottle).

Images of tanuki holding a tokkuri

But there are a lot other varieties as well.

[JasonTrue]

In Mashiko and Kasama, tanuki are often outside the cheaper pottery shops. (I never noticed them outside the better galleries, but perhaps they just don't end up being as prominent).

Of course, those pottery shops are usually selling the tanuki as well.