Abe no Yasuna
Abe no Yasuna In Japanese mythology, poethero who married a beautiful woman, Kuzunoha, who originally was a white fox. One day as Abe no Yasuna was walking in the gardens of the temple of the rice god, Inari, reciting his poems aloud, a party of nobles passed by in pursuit of a fox. They were after the fox for its liver, which was used in medicine. The fox ran into the temple gardens, stopping near Abe, who caught the animal and hid it in the folds of his kimono. The pursuers gave up the chase and left the area, and Abe freed the fox. A year later Abe fell in love with a beautiful woman, Kuzunoha, who gave birth to a boy, Abe no Seimei, noted in Japanese legend as a magician. Soon after his birth she died of a fever. Three days later she appeared to her husband in a dream, telling him not to weep, as she was the fox he had saved earlier.
SOURCE:
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow
Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante
