Bake-Danuki (
Appearance[]
In the 2007 anime, Bake-Danuki is a Tanuki with brown fur, small triangular ears, bushy tail and eyes with small black pupils. His snout has three pairs of whiskers and a small nose. He wears an orange-red robe with a thin white sash tied with a bow and a brown gourd tied to the side. Additionally he has a small white drum with a red flower with four petals within a red circle and a red frame, it is tied with a rope and hangs around his neck.[1]
Personality[]
History[]
2007 Anime[]
He appears in episode #25 of the fifth anime adaptation, The Great Yōkai Sports Festival.[1]
The Great Yōkai War[]
The Great Yōkai War: Guardians[]
Legend[]
Bake-Danuki illustration.
Bake-Danuki is a term used to refer to supernatural tanuki in Japanese folklore. There are many stories found about them throughout Japan, and are often portrayed as dim-witted but sneaky tricksters, often creating strange noises in certain places or transforming into terrible monsters. They notably have a rocky relationship with other supernatural animals like Kitsune, and often compete in matches with them to show off their abilities.
During the early Taisho Period, in a village in Iwate Prefecture, a wealthy family was preparing to hold a wedding. The master of the wedding hadn't returned from work, so the wedding couldn't proceed yet. In the middle of the night, when everyone was still anxious, the family dog, who was resting at the door, suddenly started to bark loudly, and soon the master rushed into the house with astonishing speed, saying "Oh, I'm so sorry for coming back late, come on, let's have the wedding quickly." Then, the master started to wolf down the delicious food at the table as fast as a Gaki.
The guests were all shocked by his strange behavior, but no one said anything and continued to let him eat to his heart's content. Just as the wedding was wrapping up, the family persuaded the master to stay, but he said "I have to get up early tomorrow, so I'll leave now." Then he stood up slowly but hurriedly left the entrance. At this time, the dog outside started to bark again, and the master screamed and fled to the corridor.
Seeing the scene in front of them, the guests said "This is definitely not the real master, so let the dog go!" The dog chased the master into the outer corridor, and seemingly bit something, and then everything went quiet. When the dog returned, he dragged the body of a large Bake-Danuki, the thing pretending to be the master. At this time, the real master appeared and simply said "Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm late."