[violentskies130615]

I've never heard of a conspiracy where they join each other for tricks but then again I don't know that many children's tales and animal stories. I've only heard stories where these animals act separately.For the no raccoons in Japan comment, they mean tanuki which is easiest to explain as raccoon (dog) or badger due to the resemblance to the raccoon but it's a different species. (Also mujina is a badger but some people call badgers tanuki, adding to confusion.) Tanuki are renowned for their kintama--golden balls or testicles. I recommend the cartoon movie "Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko"'cos it shows several aspects of tanuki myth in a comical modern fashion.Good article on how the legends of foxes and raccoons have gotten their names into Japanese food:http://www.bento.com/taste/tc-name.html