Once upon a time in present-day Izumi, Osaka, there was a mystical forest called Shinoda-no-mori, home to many kitsune—mischievous, shapeshifting foxes of Japanese folklore. According to legend, these magical creatures lured a hunter named Akuemon to the forest. His wife was severely ill and he had been advised by his sorcerer brother Ashiya Douman to hunt a kitsune and collect its liver to make medicine for her. Akuemon was about to kill a white fox named Kuzunoha when Abe no Yasuna, who just so happened to be the son of…
