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The Japanese raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus''), also known as in Japanese, is a subspecies of the Asian raccoon dog. Researchers have suggested that they be considered a separate species, ''N. viverrinus'', or that raccoon dogs of Japan could be further divisible into separate subspecies as ''N. p. procyonoides'' (''hondo-tanuki'') and ''N. p. albus'' (''ezo-tanuki''), but both views are controversial. As the ''tanuki'', the animal has been significant in Japanese folklore since ancient times. The legendary ''tanuki'' is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. It is also a common theme in Japanese art, especially statuary. "''Tanuki''" is often mistakenly translated into English as "badger" or "raccoon" (as used in the US version of the movie ''Pom Poko'', and outlined in Tom Robbins' book ''Villa Incognito''), two unrelated types of animals with a superficially similar appearance. Traditionally, different areas of Japan had different names for raccoon dogs as animals, which would be used to denote different animals in other parts of the country, including badgers and wild cats; however the official word in the standard Tokyo dialect is now "''tanuki''", a term that also carries the folkloric significance. ==Name== While ''tanuki'' are prominent in Japanese folklore and proverbs, they were not always clearly distinguished from other animals with a similar appearance. In local dialects, ''tanuki'' and ''mujina'' (, kyujitai: 貉) can refer to raccoon dogs or badgers. An animal known as ''tanuki'' in one region may be known as ''mujina'' in another region. In modern Tokyo standard dialect, ''tanuki'' refers to raccoon dogs and ''anaguma'' refers to badgers. Regional dishes known as ''tanuki-jiru'' ("''tanuki'' soup") may actually contain either raccoon dog or badger, although the taste of the latter is often preferred.〔Nicol, C.W., "(Talking tanuki — or whatever you call them )", ''Japan Times'', 4 January 2015, p. 21〕 Originally, the kanji for ''tanuki'', (kyujitai: 貍) was used to refer to other mid-sized mammals, mostly wild cats. Since wild cats live only in limited regions of Japan (e.g. Iriomote, Okinawa), it is believed that the characters began to be used to mean "raccoon dog" instead starting around the Japanese feudal era. This shift in meaning, along with the rarity of the raccoon dog outside Japan, may have contributed to confusion over the proper translation of "''tanuki''" into other languages. In Japanese slang, ''tanuki gao'' ("raccoon dog face") can refer to a face that looks like that of the animal, or a person's facial expression of feigned ignorance.〔(Dictionary entry for "tanuki gao" ).〕 By contrast, ''kitsune gao'' ("fox face") refers to people with narrow faces, close-set eyes, thin eyebrows and high cheekbones. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Japanese raccoon dog」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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