Okami

In folklore, the wolf was associated with the mountains (yama) and was thought to be both benevolent and malevolent. An anonymous Japanese said that "[no animal] is as frightening as [the wolf] is. It is quick and agile, and Yanagita Kunio, the father of Japanese folklore studies, said that "the wolf can hide even where there is only a single reed". In Edo period Japan, the word yama-inu became slang for a rabid dog.

On the other hand, the wolf has a benevolent side as well. At night when travelers are lost in the mountains, the wolf at times will escort them to the doors of their homes. In such capacity, these wolves are known as okuri-ôkami "sending wolf". In some stories of okuri-ôkami, the wolf is never seen, but its presence is known by the constant chirping of a sparrow at the traveler's side. However, the wolf was also said to turn on some travelers as soon as its home was reached, and also that the wolf could judge between the good or bad and would maul the latter if it came upon them in the mountains.

The wolf has largely been seen by peasants as a benevolent animal, and there are many village rites that involve or respond to the wolf. In contrast to the wolf's historical persecution in the West as an evil animal, in Japan if one kills a wolf for whatever reason, that man and his family had reason to fear divine retribution. Also, in certain villages it was a custom to make an offering of sekihan (red rice, used mainly in festivals and rites) whenever a wolf cub was born; and wolves were sometimes known to make return offerings of meat when a village woman gave birth. Wolves also were said to leave certain kills as a gift for the village, though if the villagers did not leave it a portion of the meat as a return gift, the wolf would grow angry. The reason the wolf was so highly regarded is that it was a protector of the rice field against boars, deer, and hares.

In this capacity as a rice field protector, it is associated with the fox "kitsune". In fact, the wolf was thought to be the divine messenger of the mountain deity (yama no kami), just as the fox was the messenger of the rice field deity (ta no kami). Farmers all over Japan have traditionally thought that in the winter, after the harvest, the rice field deity acends to the mountain and becomes the mountain deity giving rise to the idea that the fox and wolf are seasonal permutations of each other.

The contradicting, equally benign and perilous natures of the wolf are characteristic of some animals in Japanese folklore. The wolf is a guardian when it is properly attended to and cared for, but can develop a grudge toward mankind if slighted or mistreated. Thus, as a moral judge, the wolf's actions mirror humanity's own. As John Knight says, "Japanese wolf lore tells not of good or bad wolves but of good or bad people."