Shichido GitsuneThe Fox Who Bewitches Seven Times
七度狐（しちどぎつね）
On their way to the Ise Shrine, Kiroku and Seihachi sneak a dish of squid dressed with kinome (young sansho leaves) out of a nikomiya, mortar bowl and all, and when they have eaten it they fling the empty bowl to the side of the road. It hits a fox that is said to bewitch people seven times. In revenge for its disturbed sleep, the fox makes a wheat field look like a great river, and at the small hermitage temple where they stay the night, coffins are carried in one after another... This is one of the stories that make up Higashi no Tabi (Journey to the East), the Kamigata travel story.
The story
Kiroku and Seihachi, on a pilgrimage to the Ise Shrine, stop for a rest at a nikomiya (a simple roadside eatery) along the way. They order squid dressed with kinome (young sansho leaves), but the owner refuses to serve it, saying, “That's already spoken for.”
Annoyed, the two secretly hide the dish under a straw travel hat and leave the shop. They finish it off as they walk, and when they toss the empty earthenware mortar bowl to the side of the road, it hits a fox that was sleeping there. This is the Shichido fox, which, once it bears a grudge, is said to bewitch a person seven times.
Furious at having its sleep disturbed, the fox sets about bewitching the pair at once. A great river appears in front of them, so the two take off their kimonos and, stripped bare, nervously start to wade across. But it is only a wheat field. A farmer who has been watching asks, “Haven't you been tricked by a fox?” and the two, turning pale, hurry on their way.
They decide to stay the night at a small hermitage temple that catches their eye. But this temple, too, is part of the fox's scheme. Once the nun goes out, saying there is a wake to attend, coffin after coffin is carried in and left there, the dead rise from the coffins demanding, “Give back my money!”, monsters appear, and the two go through one terror after another.
Then the farmer from earlier in the day turns up again and brings them back to their senses. When the farmer shouts at the fox, “Ee kagen ni sen kai! (That's enough of that!)”, the fox shoots back:
The sage the punchline, contains spoilers
Tap to reveal the punchline
“Ee kagen ni andera tsubuse! (That's enough, now crush the hermitage temple!)”
This is a jiguchi (pun) on the Kamigata expression “andara tsukusu,” meaning to stop acting like a fool. In the Edo version, where this expression would not be understood, the two and the farmer hunt down the fox, and just when they think they have caught it by the tail, it comes away in their hands: it was actually a daikon radish from the field. Katsura Beicho III also used a new sage at the New Year of 2004, in which, just when they think they have cornered the fox, they find they are standing on top of a waterwheel.
Shichido Gitsune within Higashi no Tabi, and in Edo
Higashi no Tabi is a travel story made up of many linked stories, following Kiroku and Seihachi as they go from Osaka through Nara to worship at Ise, then travel around Omi and Kyoto and return to Osaka. The outward journey runs Hottan, Nara Meisho, Nobe, Nikomiya, Shichido Gitsune, Untsuku Zake, and so on. Because the Kamigata sage is a pun on a Kamigata expression, the version brought to Edo is performed with a different sage.
| Kamigata | Edo | |
|---|---|---|
| Reading of the title | Hichido gitsune | Nanatabi kitsune |
| Place of the story | One of the stories of Higashi no Tabi. Often performed together with Nikomiya, which follows Nobe | Brought over from Kamigata and performed in Edo |
| The sage | “Ee kagen ni andera tsubuse!”, a pun on the Kamigata expression “andara tsukusu” | They think they have caught the fox by the tail, but it was a daikon radish from the field. This sage is said to be the work of Katsura Konan II |
Key scenes original dialogue written for this site
The nikomiya
- KirokuMister, that squid with kinome up on the shelf. Give us a plate of that.
- OwnerCan't do it. That one's already got somewhere to go.
- KirokuThen why leave it where people can see it? It's torture just looking at it.
- SeihachiNow, now, Kii, keep quiet. ...Listen, when he goes into the back, it goes under my hat.
A great river
- KirokuSei, this is terrible. Where there was a road a minute ago, there's a river now.
- SeihachiCan't be helped. Take your kimono off and tie it on top of your head. We'll go slowly, slowly. ...It's deep, be careful.
- (Tucking up the hem and lowering his hips, he feels for the riverbed one step at a time, using a folded fan as a walking stick.)
- FarmerYou two with nothing on, what are you doing in the middle of my wheat field?
Night at the hermitage temple
- KirokuSei, the nun went off to a wake and she still hasn't come back.
- SeihachiInstead, all we get is more and more coffins. One, two, three...
- (A coffin lid shifts with a click. The two cling to each other and turn only their heads toward it.)
- KirokuNo, no, I just heard a voice from inside. “Give back my money,” it said... I haven't borrowed from anybody!
This is not a transcription of any storyteller's performance. The plot and the sage follow the classic version. All lines were written for this site.
Notable performers
- Katsura Beicho III1925–2015KamigataHe used a new sage at the New Year of 2004, in which, just when they think they have cornered the fox, they are standing on top of a waterwheel.
- Katsura Shijaku II1939–1999KamigataOne of the performers who took up this story.
- Shofukutei Nikaku III1937–2021KamigataOne of the performers who took up this story.
- Katsura Konan II1920–1996EdoA rakugo performer who performed Kamigata rakugo in Tokyo, and this story was one of his specialties. The daikon radish sage used when the story is performed in Edo is said to be his.
- Katsura Bunga IV1960–KamigataHe has also taken up this story in kamishibai (picture-card storytelling) and books for children.
