The tailed beasts

We are switching to the classic list of bijuus. Do not complain for them not being Canon!

-----Bijuu Directory-----



一尾 | 守鶴 - One Tail (Ichibi), Shukaku
As we all know, this is Gaara's demon, a wild, extravagant monster.
Jinchuuriki: Sabaku no Gaara (Extracted)
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Shukaku is a bijuu in the form of Raccon Dog (Tanuki of the Japanese mythology). Before, he was a priest that lived in the Desert of Nara. Because of the dark power released by Yamata no Orochi, and under the heavy assault of wind and sand, he transformed into a racoon dog (His actual form). He has a playful and extravagant personality, resembling the Tanuki nature. Has a pretty active sexual life. Shukaku lives in the souls of people killed by the wind and sand (This actually resembles the case of Gaara’s mother). The violet (blue in the anime) tatoos represent his title of God of Wind.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 5 times; 1 Win, 3 Losses, 1 Flee
Wins： Sokou
Losses： Raijuu, Nekomata, Isonade
Escapes： Yamata no Orochi
Fate： Shukaku is defeated by a Nara Monk called Oraga Nakashimu with a type of magic art. Then, the monk proceeds to use the "Tool of Power: Antler Teakettle" to seal it into the seal in the Wind Shrine.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A species of Tanuki, Yellow body
Ability: Sandstorms, has the control of Wind and Sand manipulation.
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 8th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 9th
Symbolic Element： Wind (God of Wind)
Origin / Discovered in： Nara Desert
Personal Notes: Shukaku is represented as the reincarnation of a Sand Priest in the series (which would be the poor guy transformed by the Sand and Wind.)
More info about Shukaku:
About Tanuki: (From Wikipedia)
Tanuki have been part of Japanese myth since ancient times. The mythical tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.
Tanuki in folklore:
The current humorous image of tanuki is thought to have been developed during the Kamakura era. The wild tanuki has unusually large testicles, a feature often comically exaggerated in artistic depictions of tanuki. Tanuki may be shown with their testicles flung over their backs like a traveller's pack, or using them as drums. Tanuki are also typically depicted as having large bellies. They may be shown drumming on their bellies instead of their testicles, especially in children's art.
During the Kamakura and Muromachi eras, some stories began to include more frightening, man-eating tanuki. The otogizōshi story of "Kachi-kachi Yama" features a tanuki that clubs an old lady to death and serves her to her unknowing husband as "old lady soup". Other stories report tanuki as being harmless and productive members of society. Several shrines have stories of past priests who were tanuki in disguise.
A popular tale known as Bunbuku chagama is about a tanuki who fooled a monk by transforming into a tea-kettle. Another is about a tanuki who tricked a hunter by disguising his arms as tree boughs, until he spread both arms at the same time and fell off the tree. Tanuki are said to cheat merchants with leaves they have magically disguised as paper money. Some stories describe tanuki as using leaves as part of their own shape-shifting magic.
Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear a big, cone-shaped hat and carry a bottle of sake. Tanuki statues always have a large belly, although contemporary sculptures may or may not show the traditional large testicles. These exaggerated features represent fertility and plenty.

二尾 | 貓又 – Two Tail (Nibi), Nekomata

Nekomata, Female Form:

Nekomata:
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Nekomata is a bijuu in the form of cat, and possesses the power of death. This Bijuu lives in a place called “Forest of Death” (Not a mistranslation.) in Hokkaido, to the north. His appearance is a black cat monster (depicted with huge, black angel wings). He’s the Death God’s pet. Nekomata feeds on dead people’s spirits, and can summon these to fight for him. He uses a third eye at the top of its head to consume the spirits.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Trying to dominate his enemies, Nekomata forms an alliance with Houkou, and attacks Kyuubi. They have a disastrous defeat, and Nekomata is rescued by the Death God, escaping death by a hair’s breadth. Battled 3 times; 2 Wins, 1 Loss.
Wins： Kaku, Isonade
Losses： Kyuubi
Fate： Nekomata ends up killed by Kyuubi later, and in that instant his spirit is summoned by the Death God. The body was kept in a shrine in the Forest of Death, sealed by the Death God himself.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A species of two tails black cat, with slightly more pointed ears and bigger canines.
Ability: Death; may control deceased person's spirits (May be related to Gaara) as well as different dark beasts
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 4th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 8th
Symbolic Element： Darkness (God of Darkness)
Origin / Discovered in： Hokkaido’s “Forest of Devils” (Different of Forest of Death)
Personal Notes: This better have had a female Jinchuuriki.
More info about Nekomata: it is said it can walk erect. The original Bijuu was a old cat, depicted as a fat, old lady’s image also.
People knew of it, and in fear of having their cats turned into the monster, they cut its tails to prevent the transformation when the time came – a bifurcation. By gesturing with its tail (and walking erect), Nekomata can animate and control the dead to do their bidding, or even dance for their amusement. Sometimes it eats its owner, then changes into an human appearance, waiting for a next opportunity. Nekomata eats the person it hates, but if the person is even more wicked, the crueler the cat becomes. When it sees the person, Nekomata won’t differ the bad and good anymore, and injures the person as much as it can. There is also a good Nekomata in the legend, that often turns into a young girl’s appearance to approach the society; with a very docile nature, likes eating fish, has a beautiful body and likes depending upon others. Otherwise, the Nekomata’s appearance becomes of a old woman, that displays bad habits in public and always has an air of dread around her; which if around people for an extended period can cause disease and pestilence.

Nekomata can also do other magic, but their most well-known and common power is that of animating the dead and manipulating them to whatever ends the particular nekomata wishes. A nekomata must be appeased by attention, food, and respect, and while many are fickle and turn their attention at a moment's notice, they do not tend to forget when they are insulted and by whom, holding grudges. To gain revenge, these nekomata usually controlled the tormentors' dead relatives, haunting them until the nekomata was appeased with food, apologies and attention.

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三尾 | 磯憮 –
Three Tails (Sanbi),
Isonade
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Isonade is a shark shaped Bijuu with a sharp horn on the forehead. It lives in the deep waters on the West of Japan, fighting pirates. Every few months, Isonade will swim to the surface of the sea from the deep waters, to breath some fresh air. However, when he does this, storms erupt, oceans rage, and all ships will be swallowed by him as food. Isonade has a subordinate fish called Samehada (?) (Same name as Kisame's Sword. Depicted differently, but with same pronunciation). Samehada attaches itself to Isonade’s stomach, and absorbs its food to create huge amounts of chakra, proceeding to send it back to its body. Samehada’s power can enable Isonade to get 5 times the quantity of chakra it could originally get. Therefore, when Isonade battles, he will have unlimited chakra to receive from Samehada.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; 2 Wins, 1 Loss, 1 Flee
Wins： Kaku, Shukaku
Losses： Nekomata
Escapes： Yamata no Orochi
Fate： A fisherman and brave warrior from Yokohama, called Takuma Muramasa, sacrifices himself in behalf of two villages in a courageous act, getting near Isonade and sealing his personal servant Samehada in the “Tool of Power: Pot of the Shark-named fish” from seal in the Water Shrine. Isonade then becomes unable to draw the massive chakra, and ends up getting exausted and sucked by the Tool’s seal in the Water Shrine as well.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A big shark/fish(?) with 3 tails and 3 fins. Has a dark blue body color, is attracted by blood (like all sharks); has a personal servant, a small fish named Samehada, as shown above, that is responsible to help Isonade absorb and digest Chakra in 5 times his original capacity.
Ability: Generic water powers, can control the currents of water.
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 6th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 7th
Symbolic Element: Water (God of Water)
Origin / Discovered in： Four Nanju Country Islands - Yawagawa Sea Area (*COUGH*Nanju is Kisame's Akatsuki Rank*COUGH*)
Personal notes: Well, if this bijuu doesn’t scream KISAME to you, then this note is indeed useful. The Samehada connection is frightening (absorbs chakra), but there can be more about it, explaining WHY Kisame’s chakra reserve is SO big (as being the biggest in Akatsuki).

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四尾 | 鼠鮫 -
Four Tails (Yonbi),
Sokou

Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Sokou is a bijuu that looks like a reptile. It was a creature that lived near Mount Fuji. Because of the toxic gas and the volcaninc ash, he was transformed into a half-rooster, half-snake monster. The Rooster and Snake are husband and wife in Sokou’s body. Everything around it withers away or dies, because of its poison. According to the Legend, whenever he hibernates in Mount Fuji, the snoring he causes will make the volcano erupt.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; 3 Losses, 1 Flee
Losses： Shukaku, Kaku, Houkou
Escapes： Raijuu
Fate： Sokou was sealed by a master of demonic arts, called Yamazaki Ishiro, with the “Tool of power: Netted Moon Cage” to the seal in the Mount Fuji’s base. Sokou becomes unable to send out his poisonous gas from the mountain for all eternity.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A four-tailed Rooster / Snake mixture. The lower part of the body is a Snake, while the upper part is a Rooster. Crawls instead of walking (Just like desert scorpions *COUGH*Hiruko!Sasori*COUGH*). Most of the body parts have an orange tone. Lives in the mount Fuji.
Ability: Controls poison, poisonous gas, venoms, and so on.
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 9th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 6th
Symbolic Element： Poison
Origin / Discovered in： Close to Tokyo, Mount Fuji.
Personal notes: Well, it indeed makes you remember of Sasori. Just a little.
More info about Sokou: If you remember, Sokou is the oriental counterpart of the folklore creature Cockatrice. Sokou doesn’t have wings like it, though.

五尾 | 彭侯 –
Five Tails (Gobi),
Houkou
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Houkou is a bijuu which looks like a five-tailed dog. Each tail of this creature represents one elemental power: Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning and Fire. They can cause catastrophic damage when used. Houkou will willingly destroy the nature to obtain the power he desires from these elements. He was once badly injured when he and Nekomata challenged Kyuubi. Strangely enough, he is the god of Illusion. Houkou lives in a giant, ancient tree.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; 3 Wins, 1 Loss
Wins： Sokou, Nekomata, Raijuu
Losses： Kyuubi
Fate： After receiving a severe wound, Houkou runs away to one of Japan's islands, and hides in a place near Kyushu’s Volcano - a giant tree, to heal his wound. But the tree's concrete position is not known by anyone.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A species of dog, with 5 long tails. Has a white coloured body. Each of the tails possess one of the five elemental powers, that used simultaneously can cause a big earthquake.
Ability: Attacking using mixture of elements; Houkou is skilled in each kind of element ability, and can also create instantaneously each kind of natural disaster.
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 3rd
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 5th
Symbolic Element： Illusion (Being the god of Illusions)
Origin / Discovered in： Near one of Kyushu’s volcanoes (Akase Lava Volcano, probably)

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六尾 | 雷獸 –
6 Tails (Rokubi),
Raijuu
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Raijuu, a bijuu in the form of weasel, has four legs and very sharp claws. Its cry sounds like thunder. It was originally the god of Thunder, but because of Yamata no Orochi’s power, it was transformed into a beast. Raijuu can release a huge amount of eletricity for battle assistance.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 5 times; 2 Wins, 3 Losses
Wins： Shukaku, Sokou
Losses： Houkou, Yamata no Orochi, Kyuubi
Fate： A ninja called Sarutobi (That’s right, but we don’t know if it’s the series’ Sandaime), in the legend, effectively eliminated Raijuu by using the technique “Kinjutsu: Raikiri”. (Now the confusion starts. This is supposed to be Kakashi’s move, but the way of writing may be different from the actual jutsu, and Kishimoto probably changed this legend to fit the story anyway). What actually happens is that the technique counters the lightning released by Raijuu by cutting it, making the beast receive its own attack, and become severely wounded. (Thus the name lightning edge.) He then is sealed by Sarutobi with the “Tool of Power: Hidden Thunder Prison” into the seal in the Thunder Shrine.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A species of weasel with golden yellow fur. The whole body’s fur grows upright. Its six tails take a lightning shape, (unlike the crappy image I have, but it’s the closest to the legend) just like the ancient God of Thunder.
Ability: Fire caused by lightning, Lightning Thunder, Lightning bolts, Lightning elemental magic arts; Raijuu may also fly about as a ball of lightning / fire.
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 5th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 4th
Symbolic Element: Lightning (God of Lightning)
Origin / Discovered in： Underground the Thunder Shrine in a town in Kyoto
Personal notes: If this is right and we go by speculation, then could Kakashi have battled with the Raijuu jinchuuriki before? Raijuu also resembles the Pokemon Raikou.
More info about Raijuu: Raiju is also depicted as the companion of Raiden, the Shinto god of lightning. While the demon is generally calm and harmless, during thunderstorms, it becomes agitated and leaps about in trees, fields, and even buildings (trees that have been struck by lightning are said to have been scratched by Raiju's claws).
Another of its peculiar behaviors is sleeping in human navels. This prompts Raiden to shoot arrows at Raiju to wake the creature up, thus harming the person in whose belly the demon is resting. Superstitious people therefore often sleep on their stomachs during bad weather. Other legends say that Raiju will only hide in the navels of people who sleep outdoors.

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七尾 | 貉 –
Shichibi (Seven Tails), Kaku
(Also read MUJINA)
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Kaku is a bijuu in the form of badger. Its Kanji is also read as Mujina, which is the name the Japanese subspecies of badger (Meles Meles Anaguma) receives in some parts of Japan. It has seven tails, and is the smallest bijuu out of the nine; though it is the most cunning and stealthy. Kaku hunts its prey underground most of the time. It kills by crumbling/destroying the piece of land that is under its target, making it fall right into his open mouth. Above land, whenever he is around he can transform into any type of creature, but he is unable to do it if he doesn’t have clay.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; 1 Win, 3 Flees
Wins： Sokou
Escapes： Nekomata, Isonade, Yamata no Orochi
Fate： Kaku’s storehouse of clay in a hole is found, and is burned by warriors. Kaku is unable to transform, and is defeated by the brave warrior Ikkyo Soujin, who proceeds to seal it with the “Tool of Power: Remnant Earth Altar” into the seal in the Earth Shrine.
Japanese Myth Appearance: Kaku is the smallest Bijuu. It has a blue color, and is good at using clay camouflage. Kaku is very difficult to bump into.
Ability: Transformation (Henge), Clay, Earth elemental magic arts
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 7th
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 3rd
Symbolic Element： Earth (God of Earth)
Origin / Discovered in： Underground Sacrificial Altar in the Nagoya outskirts
Personal notes: Resembles Deidara pretty well.
More info about Kaku: Mujina (貉) is an old Japanese term for a badger. In Japanese folklore, these animals were avid shapeshifters, and one of the forms they were purported to take was that of a faceless ghost. This particular sort of monster is often referred to by English speakers as a mujina, but the Japanese know them as nopperabou.

八尾 | 八岐大蛇 -
Eight Tails (Hachibi),
Yamata no Orochi
(Also known as Hachimata)

Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： Yamata no Orochi is a Snake bijuu. It has crimsom red eyes, eight heads and eight tails (also depicted to having trees and vines growing around them) and has the power of the Demon world, a symbol of evil. Each head of Yamata no Orochi represents a symbol: Soul, Ghost, Evil, Devil, Monstrous, Kill, The Afterworld and Death.
Its powers were originally weak, the members of the Kusanagi clan, when attacking it, acted carelessly, using the legendary sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Oro’s sword). Because of that, as a consequence, Yamata no Orochi takes the sword from them, absorbing the power contained inside, and becoming an incredibly powerful creature, and finally storing it in its body.
With the new power, Yamata no Orochi releases an insane amount of dark energy, awakening the other Bijuu and becoming arrogant. Yamata no Orochi proceeds to defeat many of the Bijuu, but when it battles with Kyuubi, it is defeated. The cause of this is simple: Kyuubi has an unlimited amount of power, making even a hole in the Kusanagi sword. As this happens, it shows how tremendously powerful Kyuubi is, deserving of the “King of Bijuu” title. Not even Sarutobi and Enma (I’m not sure how those two are into the legend) could scratch the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. (That makes connections to the Oro x Sandaime battle)
Legend also depicted it as having a power able to rival Kyuubi’s [in quality], but the fact is, Yamata no Orochi’s does have a limit.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 5 times; 4 Wins, 1 Losses
Wins： Shukaku, Isonade, Kaku, Raijuu
Losses： Kyuubi
Fate： Yamata no Orochi awaits a genius of the Yagami (NOT the Kanji of Yagami from Death Note, but Yagami as in Eight Gods: 八神) clan, which is the arch enemy of the Kusanagi clan. The purpose is to awake it [Yamata no Orochi], in order to fight Kyuubi again.
Since Yamata no Orochi’s power inherits in the Yagami Clan, If the heir appears as the first genius in 1000 years that is able to awake Yamata no Orochi’s ability, it will be completely restored. Once the process is done, the genius with such crucial task will be destroyed due to the true body of Yamata no Orochi resurfacing, which has an all-new power. It won’t be found before the decisive battle with Kyuubi, and will be able to kill no matter of thing, destroy any type of place, and attain infinite vision (as Kyuubi has). The core of Yamata no Orochi’s power is in a kind of forbidden sealing jutsu. As soon as the Yagami clan heir comprehends enough of it, a bigger, much stronger power will surface in the grasp of Yamata no Orochi.
Japanese Myth Appearance: A super Snake of Eight heads and Eight tails, attached to a single body. Has a deep brown color. It definitely is the biggest bijuu - the lenghth of it is over eight mountains. Originally, it was weaker than Houkou and Nekomata; however, that was 1000 years before a brave warrior tried defeating it with the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. In the process, the sword’s power is absorbed instead by Yamata no Orochi, thus greatly expanding his power. He continues though to be able to use freely the sword in his belly.
Ability: The legendary sword: Kusanagi no Tsurugi; summoning of evil spirits
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 2nd
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 2nd
Symbolic Element： Devil
Origin / Discovered in： An old battlefield in Osaka
Personal notes: Now, everyone knows this one resembles Orochimaru, but what I like is the “Yagami genius” legend, which OF COURSE screams Sasuke.
More info about Yamata no Orochi:
There is the story of the killing of the Eight-Headed Serpent by Susanoo. According to the legend, a local town had been living in fear of the Serpent, and the townspeople offered the sacrifice of a young girl each year to keep it appeased. Lord Susano heard about the town's dilemma, and became determined to slay the beast. He exterminated the serpent by serving it alcohol, and then cutting off its heads while it was intoxicated. Between the Kagura performances, this one is the most famous.

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九尾 | 九尾の妖狐 –
Nine Tails (Kyuubi),
Kyuubi no Youko
(Nine-Tailed Demon Fox)
Jinchuuriki: Uzumaki Naruto
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts： This is a bijuu in the shape of a nine-tailed fox, and the strongest of them all. The reason he is so powerful is simple: Kyuubi has an unlimited amount of power, earning it the “King of Bijuu” title. The power is generated by Kyuubi’s Fire Seal, and as a result, after battling for 100 years with Yamata no Orochi, it becomes exhausted; but Kyuubi continues standing, able to fight. It is also pretty cunning and smart.
Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods： Battled 4 times; All of them victories
Wins： Nekomata, Houkou, Raijuu, Yamata no Orochi
Fate： In unclear whereabouts, Kyuubi continues to kill all the people on his way to find the one who awakened him, and the one who managed to seal him before. (That being Yondaime, probably) Yamata no Orochi didn’t tell Kyuubi, though, that the one who awakened him was the Eight Tails himself.
Japanese Myth Appearance: Kyuubi no Youko is the strongest (S Level) Bijuu of the Japanese Myth. Its body has a red fur; Kyuubi represents the element of Fire. Its abilities are incredible. Because it has never been defeated by any youkai, its total strength is unable to estimate. His tails create cyclones by spinning quickly, and Kyuubi proceeds to rip its enemies with its huge claws. At the same time his fur may shoot fireballs similar to meteorites endlessly, instantly destroying villages. In the ancient Bijuu wars, a challenge results in Houkou being severely wounded, and Nekomata nearly dying, but ending up being rescued by his master, Shinigami (God of Death). Yamata no Orochi depended on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi to fight Kyuubi, but was defeated and the sword received a cracked hole, courtesy of our kitsune.
Ability: Fire element attacks, Flaming claws, and other things depicted above
Bijuu Strength Ranking： 1st
Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking： 1st
Symbolic Element： Fire (God of Fire)
Origin / Discovered in： Hidden Altar of Gods in Kobe
Personal Notes: Interesting how he searches for the one who sealed him. Also, it would be nice if Oro was the cause of Kyuubi’s awakening – the reason Kyuubi attacked the village may very well be because it’s the place he was last seen.
More info about Kyuubi: The Kyuubi is an intelligent demon that is capable of speech and has a scathing, sadistic personality. However he has also a sense of fairness and sarcastic honour, as he sometimes helps Naruto when he is in a difficult situation. This could be for purely selfish reasons, however, for it is speculated that if Naruto dies, then the Kyuubi will die with him. It seems likely that the Kyubi has some concept of a loathing respect for Naruto and even more so for the Fourth Hokage.

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