the northern mountains of Suruga, Tōtōmi, and Mikawa Provinces. General description The Edo Period essay collection (1841) by Matsura Seizan carried an illustration (above) whose caption sets its body length at , which somewhat larger than usually described; however, the text proper says it is about the size of a weasel (<30 cm?), and carried inside a bamboo tube. The (1850) also provided visual illustration of a specific anecdotal example, which reportedly had a catlike face, otter-like body, gray-colored fur, and was about the size of a squirrel, with a thick tail. And according to 's essay collection (pub. 1850), the kanko/kuda-gitsune is about the size of a weasel with vertical eyes, but otherwise the same as a feral rat (or perhaps rather the yako), except its thick fur is not all matted/dissheveled. Modern sources describe it to be the size of a house mouse, or about the size of a matchbox. The fox user (kitsune-tsukai) may also keep the tamed kuda fox spirit in the bosom of his garment ("pocket") or up his sleeve, and the creature collects assorted information which it whispers to its master's ear, so that the practitioner of the art may then reveal another's history, or predict another's future. The spirit remains invisible, and can be only seen by the user. Or it is said that the fox in the bamboo tube may be summoned by reciting a magical incantation, and be made to answer any questions asked. The ability of using the kanko/kudagitsune is obtained from Mount Kinpu the ascetics of shugendō (commonly called yamabushi) after undergoing rigorous ascetic training, or so it is reported in the Zen'an zuihitsu. Izuna An izuna is a fox servant, employed by certain "sorcerers" called izuna-tsukai (izuna users) in the Shinano Region (Nagano Prefecture); these familiars may also be employed by other psychic type religious of spiritual professionals in Niigata Prefecture and other parts of the Northeast, as well as in the Chūbu region, and those who profess to have special powers claim to perform clairvoyancy with the use of the izuna. The sorcerer was also believed capable of harming his client's enemies using the izuna, causing them to become possessed or to fall ill. The izuna is considered by some believers to be a servant of the deity called the or Īzuna gongen, typically represented as a tengu standing on a white fox. Therefore, the sorcerer (izuna-tsukai)