Tanuki Bushi School
The majority of samurai thought the Tanuki were somewhere between lunatics and buffoons, pointing to their large consumption of alcohol and odd superstitions, such as never going outside without wearing a broad straw hat, or bowing to the tanuki effigies at the entrance of their home when coming in. A small minority thought their explorations were bearing fruit though, and found the Shinomen Forest to be a somewhat safer place in their presence.
Tanuki
The Tanuki was a small Family of simple samurai, who mostly came from other Minor Clans and as such were used to a lack of luxuries. Used to the toughening forester lifestyle and avid consumers of sake and all kinds of food, many Tanuki were quite rotund, but it would have been foolish for anyone to interpret it as a sign of softness.