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So a couple of days ago I was, as usual, on random websites and, for some reason, ended up in the Naruto Wikia on the Bijuu page. I scanned through the page, not really reading anything on there, as I scrolled down. I ended up at the trivia part of the page, which made me start reading. One particular part got my attention, which said:

While most of the tailed beasts have conventional tails, Chōmei and Gyūki differ; Chōmei has one regular tail and six wings that make up its seven tails, while Gyūki has eight cephalopod limbs that serve as tails.

So we know that Chōmei has one tail and six wings and Gyūki has eight cephalopod limbs that, I guess, count as tails, for some reason. So if Chōmei and Gyūki don't really have all 7 or 8 conventional tails (as in not all are actually tails) why do they call them "Tailed Beasts"? Or do people just confuse the wings and cephalopod limbs for tails? Or are people just, normally, counting the others, which have all tails, and then mistake the wings and cephalopod limbs for tails?

Akira Mahisaseru
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    Perhaps this isn't what you're asking, but "Tailed Beasts" is a literal translation of "Bijuu". – senshin Apr 02 '16 at 05:33

2 Answers2

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Gyūki

Chōmei

As you can see in both of these pictures, the tails originate from the lower back of the beasts, where normally the tail would originate.

For Gyūki, the limbs should be on the front or below the body to be considered limbs.

For Chōmei, the wings need to be higher up, up from the centroid, or the head would be below the rest of the body while using the wings.

Links to the original images: Gyūki Chōmei

Armin
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The whole "tailed beast" thing actually is derived from japanese mithology. Kishimoto parallels some myths, but he is pretty loose about it. Here, this answer explains a lot about the tailed beasts.

Community
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Miguel Del Ben Galdiano
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