Kitsunetsuki ( Japanese : 狐憑き , 狐付き ) , also written kitsune @-@ tsuki , literally mean " the state of being possessed by a fox " . The victim is usually a young woman , whom the fox enters beneath her fingernails or through her breasts . In some cases , the victims ' facial expressions are said to change in such a way that they resemble those of a fox . Japanese tradition hold that fox possession can cause illiterate victims to temporarily gain the ability to read . Though foxes in folklore can possess a person of their own will , kitsunetsuki is often attributed to the malign intents of hereditary fox employers , or tsukimono @-@ suji .