Tanuki and the beginning of the self initiated project

Started my research looking at animals being blamed for human behaviour, mostly mythological. The subject was instigated by an obsession I had of photographing sculptures of a folk character from Japan by the name of Tanuki, a raccoon normally displayed with a bottle and an enormous set of testicles. Im told hes well known for getting drunk on sake and 'meddling' with women. Hes popular as a very cheeky character. I found a proliferation of his sculptures and souvenirs, which I found odd since I presume his existence is partly to explain very real instances of 'meddling' (and consequently exonerate the real guilty party). This page on Tanuki has some good images, though it doesnt mention Tanuki ever being assosciated with rape.