Tamamo-no-Mae is a kyūbi-no-kitsune ('nine tailed fox' - a fox that gains spiritual and ghostly powers is a kitsune, and they gain one extra tail for every century they train in their powers). She is often grouped in the Four Vilest [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Yōkai] of Japan, the other three being Shuten Doji, Nurarihyon, and Sutoku Tenno.