wasabiroots
2. Tanuki
If you’ve watched ranma 1/2, the Tanuki always comes in the form of a statue that Ryoga has whenever he gets lost. The Tanuki are East Asian canine that resembles a badger or a raccoon.
The Tanuki statues are usually found in Japanese homes and shops because of not just its cuteness but also because of their powerful magical abilities and the fun loving nature that is associated with them.
Their magic powers enables them to shapeshift into many things. Not specifically pretty women like other yokai likes to do but also things like household items or even random stuff like stones and trees. Their most famous attribute is their large and magical testicles.
They may use them as weapons, drums, fans to keep cool or even umbrellas. When they shape-shift, the balls would almost always transform into a prop for their disguise. For example their testicles may turn into a shop while they themselves turn into the shopkeeper.
There’s a famous nursery rhyme about the Tanuki which goes like this:
Tan tan Tanuki no kintama wa/Kaze mo nai no ni/Bura bura
Which means Tan-tan-Tanuki’s balls/Even when there is no wind/They would swing and swing.
Here’s a video on how it would be sung: