Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox, though in English kitsune is normally is the name for magical fox spirits or nine tailed foxes.
Stories described them as intelligent creatures that have a long life and magical powers that increase with their age.
All Kitsune have the ability to shape shift into a human form. Some stories describe kitsunes as tricksters, using their abilities to trick others and other stories describe them as friends, guardians, and lovers.
Other magical abilities that a kitsune may have are possession, mouths or tails that create fire, invisibility, and illusions.
The more tails a kitsune has the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. They can have up to nine tails and when a kitsune gains its ninth tail, its fur becomes white or gold.
There are two common descriptions of kitsune,The Zenko, meaning good foxes, are associated with Inari, And the Yako, meaning field foxes, tend to be mischievous or malicious.
My sources are
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune
And
http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Kitsune
