Tanuki and araiguma

[yankumi]

What is the difference between tanuki and araiguma? I initially learned that Tanuki was raccoon, but then several sites said that it meant "raccoon dog" and the name of the North American animal was araiguma. So what is a "raccoon dog"?

[Harisenbon]

It's a Japanese animal that looks kind of like a racoon. They're very important in mythology, and you can see statues of them everywhere.
たぬき　http://www.kumagaya.or.jp/~sizensi/print/dayori/20/20_6.html

たぬき彫刻　http://www.kamiyama-touki.com/index_com.jsp?itemClass=31661

[yankumi]

thank you, that is very cool, I didn't realize it was a separate species.