The Tales of Ise
In Japanese folklore, tsukumogami (付喪神 or つくも神, lit. "tool "kami"") are tools that have acquired a kami or spirit. According to an annotated version of "The Tales of Ise" titled "Ise Monogatari Shō", there is a theory originally from the "Onmyōki" (陰陽記) that foxes and tanuki, among other beings, that have lived for at least a hundred years and changed forms are considered "tsukumogami". In modern times, the term can also be written 九十九神 (literally ninety-nine "kami"), to emphasize the agedness.