Nature is full of wonders. There are certain magical days, when the world glows under a bright golden sun and without any warning, raindrops begin to fall through the sunlight. This rare meeting of sun and rain creates an ephemeral, enchanting wonder of nature known as the sunshower. A faint rainbow may bloom across the horizon, as if nature is smiling in secret.
For any Bangladeshi, this sight brings a smile and a well-known saying to mind: “The fox is getting married”.
Sunshower holds its place in Bangladeshi folklore with a single rhyme: “রোদ হচ্ছে, পানি হচ্ছে, খেঁকশিয়ালীর বিয়ে হচ্ছে”,[1] meaning “The sun is shining, the rain is falling, and the jackal's wedding is taking place”. From person to person, jackals get replaced with foxes.
While the story behind this Bangladeshi folktale has faded with time, another country far across the ocean has carefully preserved a tale much like it. The tale of the fox’s wedding during a sunshower is expressed with greater mythical detail in Japan.
Japanese folklore refers to sunshower as ‘Kitsune no Yomeiri’, which means ‘the Fox's Wedding’. The term comes from ‘yomeiri’, which is the custom of a bride being taken into her husband's family. ‘Kitsune’ translates into fox. In Japan, foxes are often seen as tricksters and magical creatures. According to Japanese folklore, raindrops are not just creating a sun shower; they are the tricks of foxes. Rain at the sunshower creates a magical curtain, behind which the foxes hide their celebration from the humans.[2]
According to some myths, any human who witnesses this spectral wedding faces serious consequences, including death. The famous Japanese movie ‘Dreams’ by Akira Kurosawa brought this haunting folktale to life. [3] It perfectly captured the ethereal beauty and underlying danger of stumbling upon the foxes' hidden wedding.
The story further says that the enigmatic weddings happen in two ways. The daytime one is a sunshower, and the nighttime one would be the sight of lanterns with fox-fire called ‘kitsune-bi’ winding along mountain trails.[4] The 1750s encyclopedia ‘Echigo Naruse’ is among the historical sources that talk about such phenomena of lights appearing that move for miles in the dark. [5]
The plots of these tales are a direct reflection of traditional wedding ceremonies in Japan. For a long time, nuptials were held at night, and brides were brought and welcomed with a lantern procession to their new home. It was called ‘Konrei Gyoretsu’. The glimmering of the fox-fire lanterns going from one place to another not only beautifully matched the human custom but also, according to folklore, the foxes were performing a wedding of their own. [6]
It is believed that foxes do not want to be seen by the people, and whenever someone followed these mysterious lights, they would find them disappearing as they got closer.
For Japanese farmers, spotting a fox wedding wasn't just a folktale. It was a sign of good luck. Whether they saw the sunshower or the ghostly lanterns at night, they took it as nature's sign of a rich harvest. Some even believed that counting the lanterns could predict their future bounty; the more lights they saw, the fuller their barns would be. [7]
During the Edo period (1603- 1868), Inari, the deity of foxes, rice, fertility, and prosperity, became more popular. Foxes were known to be her messengers. At that time, these stories deepened and spread across Japan. [8]
There is also a dark version of ‘Kitsune-bi’ which was prevalent in Tokushima, where they called it ‘Kitsune no Soshiki’ (Fox Funeral). They viewed such processions as harbingers of death. [9]
The kitsune-bi of Japan has a counterpart in Bangladesh mostly known as ‘Aleya’. In some parts of Bangladesh, ‘Aleya’ or these mysterious light balls are described as the souls of fishermen who have drowned. They delight in confusing those who are still alive and sometimes luring people to their death.[10] Some call these lights ‘Aile chora’ or ‘thieves in the aisle’, which are perceived as ghost thieves that come to crop fields during the night.
In English, these lights are called ‘will-o'-the-wisp’. There is a scientific explanation for these eerie lights. They are frequently attributed to the accidental ignition of gases released in the marsh, such as methane and phosphine. [11]
The modern world may offer scientific explanations for weather and light, but the simple wonder and joy still remain in both Bangladesh and Japan. And with that shared joy, a quiet cultural bridge is formed, linking two nations through a single, magical moment in nature.
References
Blust, Robert; The Fox’s Wedding (1999) https://addapatra.com/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%A1-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%B6/
https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE
https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/
https://yokai.com/kitsunenoyomeiri/?srsltid=AfmBOoqOz5tNeXzUzBsw1T4ezXDWsXh2pejo6rQq6D1e95feGC-kMJOb
[1] https://addapatra.com/%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%A1-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%A6-%E0%A6%B6/
[2] https://yokai.com/kitsunenoyomeiri/?srsltid=AfmBOoqOz5tNeXzUzBsw1T4ezXDWsXh2pejo6rQq6D1e95feGC-kMJOb
[3] Blust (1999)
[4] https://yokai.com/kitsunenoyomeiri/?srsltid=AfmBOoqOz5tNeXzUzBsw1T4ezXDWsXh2pejo6rQq6D1e95feGC-kMJOb
[5] https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/
[6] https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/
[7] https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/
[8] Blust (1999)
[9] https://hyakumonogatari.com/2013/07/19/kitsune-no-yomeiri-the-fox-wedding/
[10] https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A6%BE
[11] https://www.science.org/content/article/mysterious-will-o-wisps-ignited-microlightning