Case file · Folklore / legend
The fox fires of Ōji
Hiroshige's 1857 print shows foxes gathering under a nettle tree at Ōji on New Year's Eve, their kitsunebi (fox fires) glowing, before visiting Ōji Inari shrine.
1857 CE · 35.76, 139.74 · status: legend
The account
Farmers counted the fox fires to forecast the coming year's harvest. Ōji still holds a fox-mask parade on New Year's Eve.
The sceptical view
Kitsunebi have been linked to burning marsh gas, phosphorescent fungi, distant lanterns and atmospheric refraction.