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Japan's Famous Raccoon Dog - Tanuki
  The Tanuki or "Raccoon Dog" is a well known and very popular character
in Japanese art, song and especially children's literature. Tanuki
are, in fact, real animals resembling raccoons in both size and general
appearance. The animal's habitat includes most of the Japanese islands as
well as much of central Asia and even parts of Eastern Europe (they have even
been spotted in Germany!). It's interesting to note that the Japanese have long used the image of the
Tanuki as a symbol of the dangers of overindulgence in alcohol. A
famous and very commonly seen type of Tanuki statue features a
pot-bellied male specimen standing on two feet with an empty purse in one hand
and an empty jug of sake in the other. The animals genitals are distinctly
visible with a rather shrunken penis and grotesquely swollen testes. The
message behind this curious image is that an excess of sake will leave one with
an empty purse and full libido yet diminished ability to perform. Perhaps
this story explains why Tanuki statues are a common sight at the entrance
to many Japanese bars and nightclubs (see photo at right - click to enlarge).
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Click
here
to see Tanuki items available to purchase within our eBay store The
Old Tokaido. |
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