

So a couple of days ago I was, as usual, on random websites and, for some
reason, ended up in the [Naruto
Wikia](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Narutopedia) on the
[Bijuu](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Tailed_Beast) page. I scanned through the
page, not really reading anything on there, as I scrolled down. I ended up at
the trivia part of the page, which made me start reading. One particular part
got my attention, which said:

> While most of the tailed beasts have conventional tails, Chōmei and Gyūki
> differ; Chōmei has one regular tail and six wings that make up its seven
> tails, while Gyūki has eight cephalopod limbs that serve as tails.

So we know that Chōmei has one tail and six wings and Gyūki has eight
cephalopod limbs that, I guess, count as tails, for some reason. So if Chōmei
and Gyūki don't really have all 7 or 8 conventional tails (as in not all are
actually tails) why do they call them "Tailed Beasts"? Or do people just
confuse the wings and cephalopod limbs for tails? Or are people just,
normally, counting the others, which have all tails, and then mistake the
wings and cephalopod limbs for tails?


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2016-04-02T03:36:14.537
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question
naruto
Why do people call the Bijuu "tailed beasts" if not all of them have tails?


[![Gyūki](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2XFsp.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2XFsp.jpg)

[![Chōmei](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XWpDa.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/XWpDa.jpg)

As you can see in both of these pictures, the tails originate from the lower
back of the beasts, where normally the tail would originate.

For Gyūki, the limbs should be on the front or below the body to be considered
limbs.

For Chōmei, the wings need to be higher up, up from the centroid, or the head
would be below the rest of the body while using the wings.

Links to the original images:
[Gyūki](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/naruto/images/1/18/HachibiManga.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140731180030)
[Chōmei](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/narutofanon/images/7/7a/Gappei_Full_Seven_Tails_Form.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130819014909)


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2016-04-02T09:00:45.217
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answer


The whole "tailed beast" thing actually is derived from japanese mithology.
Kishimoto parallels some myths, but he is pretty loose about it. Here, this
answer explains a lot about the [tailed
beasts](https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/748/how-are-the-bijuu-
adapted-from-real-mythology).


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answer