The Japanese name for the raccoon-dog, Nyctereuctes procyonoides. In folklore the animal is credited with supernatural powers, including shapeshifting, money counterfeiting, and most notably of expanding its already very large scrotum to use as a
drum or a weapon. Tanuki statues are a
popular part of Japanese kitsch, portraying a jolly, plump little anthropomorphization of the creature, usually with a straw hat, a bottle of sake, a purse of bills for his carousing, and of course his
big wrinkly testicles dragging on the ground between his
feet.