People interpreted "Miketsu no Kami" as 'three fox gods' as "Mi" means 'three,' "ketsu" used to mean 'fox,' and "no Kami" means 'gods,' causing the fox to be thought as an envoy or a relative of a deity.
キツネの古名を「けつ」と言い、御饌津神を「三狐神」と解して、狐が稲荷神の神使、あるいは眷属であるとされた。