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ntbkompy :
Yo! Love Karasu and I can't wait to see the second book. You asked for questions for the FAQ, so here are a couple I'm curious about: Are there tengu in other parts of the world besides Japan? What are the imits to Chiyo's shapeshifting abilities? While I figure the story will focus primarily in Japan and the people/creatures that live there, do non-yokai monsters exist, if only in other parts of the world? Sorry if the questions are a bit on the dumb side, by the way. Good luck!

Reponse:

Thanks so much! Your questions aren’t dumb at all, I really appreciate them!

Tengu are a Japanese (Shinto) creation, so they only exist in Japan. I suppose, storywise, one could leave Japan and go live somewhere else, but there isn’t much of a reason for them to do so.

Chiyo’s shapeshifting is limited only by her age and skill. She has three tails (meaning she is over 200 years old), so she’s sort of young for a kitsune. Nine-tailed foxes have much more powerful abilities. For now, Chiyo can change into other humanoids and animals, but can’t do much about her color scheme. She can’t transform into inanimate objects like a tanuki can. Eventually, her skills will grow more sophisticated and she may even be able to transform things aside from herself.

None of the story takes place outside of Japan, but I suppose since there is a bit of magic and lore, that the rest of the world isn’t exempt. If he were to journey elsewhere, Shichi would probably find other kinds of monsters and spirits.