📍 Shigaraki Touen Tanuki Village

One of the most insane places (in the best way) that I've been to in my life and in all of Japan is Shigaraki Touen Tanuki Village 信楽陶苑たぬき村 aka where the iconic tanuki statue was born.

About 50 minutes by car from Kyoto or 40 minutes from Nara, Shigaraki is home to Shigaraki-yaki or one of Japan's 六古窯 (Six Ancient Kilns), with origins dating to 742 CE. The local clay is a byproduct of ancient Lake Biwa's sediment deposits, which made it ideal for clay and production has continued for 1,300 years.

Fast-forward to the Meiji era when the famous tanuki or raccoon dog ceramic statue was born. Ceramicist Fujiwara Tetsuzō (藤原銕造), says he watched tanuki dancing and drumming their bellies in a bamboo grove by moonlight one night very Pom Poko style, and decided to make their image in ceramic... this is also legend so we just have to take his word for it haha.

But the tanuki didn't actually become a national icon until 1951, when Emperor Shōwa made an official visit to Shigaraki. The townspeople lined the road with tanuki figures, each holding a small Japanese flag. The Emperor was moved enough to compose a waka-style poem about the scene:

「をさなき日 あつめしからに なつかしも 信楽焼の 狸をみれば」
"They remind me of the treasures I collected as a child — these Shigaraki tanuki."

And after the poem was shared nationally, and the association between Shigaraki and the tanuki was cemented forever!!! Shop owners across Japan began placing tanuki figures at their entrances as good-luck charms, particularly for business. But the overall body of the tanuki was given different meanings as well.

The standard tanuki figure carries eight symbolic features:

1) a large straw hat for protection from bad weather and disaster

2) big eyes for perceiving the environment clearly

3) a smile to attract customers

4) a sake bottle for virtue

5) a promissory book for trust and debt

6) a large belly for bold decision-making

7) a large scr*tum aka the money pouch LOL for financial luck

8) a big tail for stability

So if you're wanting to learn a little bit of history about the tanuki statue in the place he was born surrounded by probably millions of him, then I highly recommend taking a trip to Shigaraki.