美術で狐 Kitsune in Art
Summer 2022
For Graduate School Application
In a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Fig 1), a child is tugging at the skirt of a woman. This woman’s shadow, seen through the screen, reveals the shape of a fox’s head where the shadow should be of a woman’s head. What exactly is this woman? Is she human or is she a fox, or is she something entirely different? The title of this print, The Fox-Woman Leaving Her Child, tells us that she is a fox-woman, or rather a fox disguised as a woman. Most Japanese people would be able to tell just from looking at the image. This type of being is not human, but rather a type of yōkai called a Kitsune, translated as “fox” in English.
Yōkai is a catch-all term in Japan that can mean spirit, demon, ghost, deity, and many other non-human beings, excluding monsters (kaiju) and gods (kami). The tales of yōkai grew out of many sources, but all, including those of the Kitsune, found their home among the citizens of Japan. The Kitsune have one of the most varied and largest in number of all tales in Japan. Some came from abroad, such as from China during the introduction of Buddhism. Others originated with the ancient natives of Japan, the Ainu. And others were born out of the minds and experiences of the Japanese people themselves, mainly among the local villages. To the Japanese, the Kitsune is referred as feminine. And during the Edo period, art began to thrive with images of the tales that had been told, including those of the Kitsune, both locally known and nationally known. The portrayal of Kitsune in art continued throughout Japan’s history.
The story in Tuskioka’s print (Fig 1) starts out with a man who is searching for a wife. He comes across a woman in a field who is looking for a husband. The two decide to get married, and have a child. At about the same time, their dog gives birth to a puppy who constantly barks at the woman. The woman asks her husband to kill the puppy, but he does not. Later on, the puppy jumps at the woman trying to bite her, which scares the woman into revealing her true form, that of a fox. Her husband sees this and tells her that since they have a child together, he will not forget her, and that when he calls, she should come and sleep with him. She leaves her human family, but comes to her husband when he calls for her.[I]
In Tsukioka’s print (Fig 1), the woman wearing red is none other than the fox-wife with her child tugging at her skirt as she leaves. The child does not want his mother to go, just like the husband. But, the fox-wife must leave because if she doesn’t her husband and son will be social outcasts. The print reveals a sad, yet loving moment of a family with two different races. The fox-wife gracefully leaves out the door, while her shadow seen through the screen reveals her true form now known by everyone in the house. A Kitsune transforming into a woman is actually very common among Kitsune tales, as Kitsune are known to be shapeshifters.
In a woodblock print by Ohara Koson called Dancing Fox (Fig 2), a fox, or Kitsune, is standing on its hind legs wearing a lily pad on its head. The Kitsune’s arms are raised probably to keep the lily pad from falling off. The Kitsune may be trying to spin around in a circle a few times, so that it can transform into a human. This is due to the belief that a Kitsune can transform into a human by wearing a type of ragweed or lily pad on its head and spin around a few times without the ragweed/lily pad falling off. As can be seen in this print, the Kitsune has not yet been successful in shapeshifting yet. This method is not the only way that Kitsune can transform. Another method requires the Kitsune to wear a human skull on its head and bows to the moon. If the skull does not fall off, it will transform into a human.
Age can also play a factor in the success of a Kitsune transforming. It is believed that the older the Kitsune is, the wiser and more talented they will be. A young fox may not be able to transform entirely, as its tail will still be showing, while an older Kitsune would be hard for someone to tell whether they are even a Kitsune at all. In Ohara’s print (Fig 2), this Kitsune may not yet be old enough to transform easily or have only just started the shapeshifting process. Kitsune are believed to live a long time, even past one hundred years. It is believed that once they reach one hundred they will often become divine and their coats will become white or black. A long life can also sometimes involve the number of tails the Kitsune have (up to nine tails total). This usually can denote an even longer life of a thousand years or so.
One woodblock print by Ogata Gekkō (Fig 3), the Nine-tailed Fox, and two woodblock prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Fig 4-5), the Prince Hanzoku Terrorized by a Nine-Tailed Fox and The Magic Fox of Three Countries, show the tale of the most popular nine-tailed, thousand year old Kitsune in Japan’s history. This tale has traveled from India, through China, on its way to Japan.
Forrrrrrred emperor Toba-no-in, who rules Japan behind the scenes, a mysterious woman appears at the court. She lacks the proper family connections, but her beauty and education stand beyond the reach of any other court lady. She quickly becomes the retired emperor’s favorite and rarely leaves his side. One night, a fierce storm shakes the palace, and the court tries to distract themselves with an evening of music and poetry. Suddenly, the wind bursts into the room and extinguishes all the lamps. Only the darkness is not total. A soft glow cuts the night, radiating from the emperor’s mistress. This terrifies everyone in the court, except Toba. He sees it as a sign that his favorite olady transcended normal spirituality and names her Tamamo no mae, the Jewel Maiden.
Soon after the event, the retired emperor and his son, the reigning emperor Konoe, fall ill. The court exorcist, Abe no Yasunari, suspects foul play on the part of the Jewel Maiden after her glowing incident. Abe decides to reveal the truth about the woman. Insisting the Jewel Maiden take part in a ceremony, Abe uses the ritual as a cover for his exorcism incantations.
As he finished his last incantations, the Jewel Maiden, writhing in pain, transforms into her true form: a nine-tailed fox. She flies off, and Abe orders two of the court’s best warriors to put an end to her. Over several additional adventures, the warriors manage to slay the fox. In the last act of vengeance, the fox transforms her spirit into a stone that spews out poisonous gas that kills everything nearby. The emperor and his son still die despite the efforts of the warriors.
Around a century later, the Zen practitioner Genyo travels to the stone to put an end to its killing. Because his immense spiritual powers protect him from the deadly fumes, Genyo saunters right up to the stone without any problems. The spirit of the fox, sensing her end, confesses to him all that she did. In India, she convinces the king to invade his neighbors and use the prisoners for a bloody ritual. She speaks of her time in China and of the end of its dynasty. Finally, she tells the story of Toba. In response to her stories, Genyo hits the stone with his staff – cleaving it in half – and teaches her the errors of her life. After hearing his teaching, the Jewel Maiden’s spirit lifts from the stone and ascends to a positive rebirth with other celestial beings and nine-tailed foxes.” [II]
In Ogata’s print (Fig 3), the nine-tailed fox dressed in fine garments is flying through the sky. She looks back as though she is fleeing from someone or something. The Kitsune’s clothes are those often seen worn by nobility or even royalty. This could draw the connection between the nine-tailed fox in Ogata’s print (Fig 3) and the nine-tailed Kitsune in the Tamamo-no-mae tale above. In the first print by Utagawa (Fig 4), a nine-tailed fox is flying in the sky as it looks like it is harassing or fighting the figures below. It is hard to tell where this is taking place or who exactly is portrayed, as the people’s features and attire seem to be influenced from a few different sources, including some European references in the attire of the man lying down. What this print does reveal is the moment of the nine-tailed Kitsune’s escape. The standing figure could be Abe no Yasunari, who exorcised Tamamo no mae, and is calling for the soldiers. This would then mean that the man lying on the ground could be the sickly emperor reaching out with his hand, not wanting his favorite concubine to leave.
In Utagawa’s second print (Fig 5), an old man dressed in monk’s attire beats his staff upon the stone, which is surrounded by the bones of the dead, and a spirit of a woman floats above the stone. This print portrays the moment of Genyo’s interaction with Tamamo no mae’s spirit in the poisonous stone. This could be the moment where Tamamo no mae tells her story or begins to receive Genyo’s teachings. The stone itself even looks hideous and grotesque with its many knots, curves, and bulges. There is a man cowering in fear under his hat behind Genyo. This is odd, because no one other than Genyo could get close enough without dying due to the poisonous gas emitting from the stone.
As mentioned before, when a Kitsune reaches the age of one hundred, they can become divine, and their coat turns white or black. This divinity is often, but not always, associated with the goddess Inari, the goddess of rice, agriculture, fertility, wealth, etc. The Kitsune are seen as the messengers and guardians of Inari, which is why when visiting an Inari shrine, Kitsune statues can be seen at entrances throughout the shrine’s grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan, one of the major Inari shrines in the country is one such example, as Kitsune statues are posted at the entrance to the torii gates and the shrine itself (Fig 6-7). Though these statues have some standardization, they also have distinct characteristics and features. There are some people who analyze the different statues of Kitsune to find these differences. Every Kitsune statue wears a red bib, thus further deepening their connection with prosperity and the gods, of which red is often the color for prosperity in East Asian cultures.
The Toyokawa Inari Shrine in Toyokawa, Japan, is one of two Inari shrines that features a large number of Kitsune statues (Fig 8-10). These statues cover almost the entire “13 square kilometer”[III] (about 5 square miles) shrine grounds. Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kamata, Kawasaki, Japan is another such example of a large number of Kitsune statues within an Inari shrine (Fig 11-12). However, the Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine Kitsune statues are unique amongst all of the Inari shrines, as the statues are not all in the “standard” seated position, and all of them have unique coloring. None of these 108 Kitsune statues are in the stone’s natural, unpainted colors, but rather in a variety of colors from peach, to yellow, to orange. And they are all in a variety of poses including some that are laying down, while others are climbing over rocks.
How did the Kitsune become a symbol for the goddess Inari? There is only one tale that reveals their connection. In this tale, a family of white Kitsune travel from their home, far away, to Mount Inari, where the goddess resides. Upon arriving, the Kitsune family prostrated in front of Inari’s shrine, where they asked the goddess Inari if they could use their gift of wisdom to benefit the world. Inari was impressed by their sincerity and offered for them to stay and service the worshippers that come to her shine. Out of joy, the Kitsune family made oaths and took up their posts within Inari’s shrine. It is unknown which came first, this tale or the Kitsune as messengers and guardians of the goddess Inari. In the tale, Inari is actually mentioned as a god, while today Inari is seen as a goddess. At one point in history the people of Japan shifted her from a male to a female. The reason why is still not entirely clear, but it may have to do with her shift “from a local harvest god to the Goddess of Rice for all of Japan.”[IV]
As mentioned, these white (and black) Kitsune are considered divine, whether they have a connection to the goddess Inari or not. In Andō Hiroshige’s woodblock print called Fox Fire (Fig 13), white Kitsune with flames above their heads gather around a tree. In nature, foxes gathering would be unusual, but during certain occasions, Kitsune will gather. In this instance, seen in Andō’s print, the divine Kitsune are most likely sending a message. In one area of Japan, local farmers would be able to tell the success of their crops in the coming year[V] based on the glow of the Kitsune’s fires. A Kitsune’s fire or fox-fire is often called Kitsune-bi, and are often created one of three ways. The first is seen in Andō’s print (Fig 13), while the other two methods involve either the fire coming from the Kitsune’s mouth or when a Kitsune strikes its tail on the ground and a flame appears on the tip of their tail. Kitsune-bi are not the only way to receive messages from Kitsune. In some villages by the sea, fisherman can tell if they will have a good catch or not by the bark(s) of the Kitsune. This was also believed as far back as the ancient people of Japan, the Ainu.
Kitsune-bi are also associated with Kitsune-no-yomeiri (fox wedding-procession), and are a popular tale seen in art. There might actually be more images of Kitsune-no-yomeiri than there are tales of it. On an inrō (carrying cases; Fig 14), a Kitsune-no-yomeiri wraps around the whole case, making it appear as though the procession is never-ending. These Kitsune figures are dressed in traditional Japanese attire, standing on their hind legs like humans, and in a traditional wedding procession that is typical of a Japanese human’s traditional wedding procession. This similarity is probably why the Kitsune-no-yoimeiri is a popular subject for art.
In a woodblock print by Yamamoto Shōun (Fig 15), a Kitsune-no-yomeiri is mostly hidden by fog or mist and the barely visible shadowy figures of the Kitsune are seen. Further back, the glow of the Kitsune-bi is seen following the procession, while a visible Kitsune holds a lit lantern guiding the procession behind. In this print, the Kitsune-bi is revealed to be a normal lantern instead of a special flame, but the flames in the background are hard to tell with the figures obscured by the fog. In another woodblock print by Asai Chû (Fig 15), the entire procession is in shadow, and even though the shape of the lanterns can be seen, there is no other indication that there are Kitsune-bi. Instead of fog, like in Yamamoto’s print (Fig 14), in Asai’s print (Fig 15), there is rain. What is interesting about Asai’s print (Fig 15), is that even though it is raining, it looks as though the sun is shining. This type of weather condition where the sun is shining, but rain is falling is believed to be when these Kitsune-no-yomeiri take place. And of course, no human can actually see the full procession in such weather as they are often seen in the distance. Sometimes Kitsune utilize illusions and transformations to hold their Kitsune-no-yomeiri if they might be seen by humans.[VI]
There is another kind of Kitsune, which relates to the tale seen in Tsukioka’s print (Fig 1), as well as many other art and tales. This Kitsune is considered the wild Kitsune, the ones who typically play tricks on humans either through deception or possession. And it is often the divine Kitsune that are tasked with reprimanding the wild Kitsune. The fox-wife in Tsukioka’s print (Fig 1) is good, but there are many tales, and other works of art that reveal the Kitsune as a trickster, much like the Native American Coyote. And Shapeshifting, Kitsune-bi, and Kitsune-no-yomeiri can be seen with both the divine and the wild Kitsune.
In a woodblock print by Andō Hiroshige called Yaji Thinks Kita is a Fox (Fig 17), a man is seen beating another man on a road in the middle of farmland. In this print, Yaji is beating Kita to reveal his true form as a Kitsune. This is because during their travels they had separated for a short time and Yaji, knowing that the area is known for having Kitsune, believes his friend is one. But, of course, Kita is not.[VII] Even if they are not filling the entire print, Andō places Yaji and Kita in the forefront, with another man standing behind not stopping the beating, but trying to figure out if Kita is a Kitsune or not as he scratches his head. This is because the Japanese believe that beating a Kitsune in its transformed state (in its human form) is one method for snuffing out a Kitsune and getting it to reveal itself as a deceptive fox.
Though there is no Kitsune seen, the title and the method of beating the Kitsune to reveal its fox-form is often understood by the Japanese people and anyone who has heard such tales. The man scratching his head as he watches is most likely doing what most bystanders would do during this time period (or prior time periods). He wants to know whether Kita is a Kitsune or not, so he watches and does not interfere.
Kitsune are also known for being able to tell the future, which is seen in Andō’s first print (Fig 13) and in a woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi called Fox Cry (Fig 18). In Tsukioka’s print (Fig 18), a Kitsune, standing up like a human, is dressed in monk’s attire, surrounded by tall plants under the moonlight. The Kitsune in this image is coming out of shapeshifting, as its feet are still human, while its head is that of a fox. The Kitsune turns its head as though to make sure no one is around. After all it doesn’t want to be seen transforming by a human. Tsukioka’s print (Fig 18) tells the tale of an old Kitsune, who was tired of being hunted, approached a hunter disguised as his uncle and priest, Hakuzōsu. He tells the hunter all the good things about foxes and the punishments for taking a life. He then returns home and along the way begins to transform into his Kitsune form. As he does, he loses his foresight ability and reason, and ends up caught in a hunters trap.[VIII]
Their ability to foresee the future was highly prized, even making some people and families become fox-owners or fox-sorcerers who tamed and even utilized the power of the Kitsune. However, the association of owning a Kitsune or being adopted by a Kitsune was not well received, and those who were associated with a Kitsune were often ostracized from society. Even if you try to avoid being associated with a Kitsune, you don’t always get the choice. There are many tales of Kitsune who are grateful towards a human or a family and will often give a reward even at the cost of their own child.[IX] It’s not always that simple though. “The Japanese fox rewards those who lack ulterior motives and punishes complainers and connivers. She repays kindness with kindness and loyalty, even when the person originally acts cruelly toward her.”[X] This is also common in many Kitsune tales of gratitude.
A small figurine or netsuke by Masanao (Fig 19) is a Kitsune laying down while playing/holding a gem-like stone in its paws while looking to the side to make sure no one will take their stone. This netsuke is not smooth like the statues at Inari shrines, but instead has been scraped a little to give the illusion of fur. The tail of the Kitsune is also wrapped around its body so that it may touch the stone to protect it. This little Kitsune netsuke seems quite protective of its gem-like stone. This gem-like stone is seen in a few statues, including Masanao’s netsuke (Fig 19) and in some Kitsune statues seen at Inari shrines (Fig 6-12). But, what is this gem-like stone?
In one tale, a woman is playing with a gem-like ball, which of course seems weird and out of place, so the people avoid her. A samurai comes by and takes the ball from her. She then pleads with the samurai to return the ball, even going as far as to say that she would protect him if he returns it to her. He does, and later on his trip home, he feels an uneasiness and decides to call the Kitsune. She comes in her fox form and guides him through the woods, stealthily past an ambush that was waiting for him. He returns home safely thanks to the Kitsune.[XI] In another story, a bishop notices a few foxes making a stone. A few of the samurai protecting the temple sneak up and steal the stone. At night the bishop hears knocking at his door and the pleas of the Kitsune asking for their fire-ball back. After many nights of this, the bishop goes to the samurai and demands the fire-ball back. That night he returned the fire-ball to the Kitsune. Years later, as the bishop lie on his death bed, his brother who resided in a faraway temple comes to say his goodbyes. It turns out the Kitsune had gone to the bishop’s brother and told him the bishop was going to die soon. The day after the bishop’s brother visited, the bishop died.[XII]
In one of the above stories, this gem-like stone is a fire-ball, and in others it is considered a part of their soul. However, not all Kitsune carry it around, so it is not seen everywhere. And, since it is considered a jewel of sorts, could it be related to the tale of Tamamo no mae, as her name means the Jewel Maiden? Or could it be related to the goddess Inari, who also is represented by a jewel? There are too many tales throughout Japan’s history for anyone to tell. Though, in both these tales someone does bad, and someone gets rewarded for returning their ball, stone, fire-ball.
There is one form of the Kitsune which is not seen in art, that of the Kitsune-tsuki or fox-possession. With the strong belief in the many tales of Kitsune it would be easier for Kitsune to possess a human, usually a female, like in the tale above about the woman playing with a gem-like ball. The humans around her thought she was possessed by a Kitsune. There are, of course, other tales of Kitsune-tsuki, but they are not generally seen in art. This is possibly due to the fact that Kitsune-tsuki may be difficult to portray as these pieces would look just like a portrait of a woman (or man). This scenario could be portrayed with the shadow of the possessing Kitsune spirit showing through a screen, much like in Tsukioka’s The Fox-Woman Leaving Her Child (Fig 1), but then this could mean a Kitsune-tsuki or a fox-transformation, which is typically the case.
Kitsune are seen in other genres as well. This is due to the fact that Kitsune tales make up one of the largest number of tales about a yōkai or god/goddess. These tales for the longest time have been told by word of mouth among the local people and sometimes never leaving the village they originated from. However, over the past hundred years, there are those who began to record these tales, which is why we can read them now. The tales of the Kitsune are so popular and vast, that they have not only shown up in art, but also in poetry, plays, and even Japan’s traditional play form, No-Plays.
In No-plays, the male actors will sometimes wear masks to represent the character they are playing. And with Kitsune having a treasure-trove of tales, there are some that make it into these actor’s repertoires. To play the character of a Kitsune, the No-actor will wear a mask in the shape, design, and style of a Kitsune. Two netsukes with moveable jaws (Fig 20-21) show how these older No-masks may have looked.
In the first netsuke (Fig 20), the Kitsune’s features are more rounded and smooth compared to the second netsuke (Fig 21), which shows contours that reveal its yōkai appearance. The second netsuke has grooves that highlight furrowed brows, thick eyebrows, scrunched up nose, and whiskers coming from around the nose. The ridges at the end of the mouth, along with the defined features mentioned enhance the snarling look of the Kitsune in the second netsuke compared to the first netsuke. The first netsuke reveals its teeth and scrunches up its nose, much like the second netsuke, to reveal its snarling expression, but the rest of the features do not reveal such an angry expression compared to the second netsuke. In fact, the first netsuke has more stylized lines, which gives it more of an artistic impression rather than an animalistic one like the second netsuke.
There were even masks used for Shinto ritual dances to invite prosperity. Today, Kitsune masks can still sometimes be seen in such rituals,[XIII] but more often these masks that have taken on new artistic designs are items for sale at festivals and markets (Fig 22-26). As can be seen with the netsukes (Fig 20-21) and the modern, commercial masks (Fig 22-26), each mask is uniquely different, from their shapes, to their colors, and even to the painted designs. However, all modern/contemporary masks have a ground paint of white or black, thus tying them back to the more desired divine Kitsune and to the goddess Inari.
So, what is a Kitsune? They are a mystery and a phenomenon that are one of only a very few yōkai who exist within different realms. They exist between the wild and human civilization. They are divine or wild. They represent the unknown and the known. They are considered the spirit of the Japanese people, whom they can and cannot relate to. They have existed as part of Japanese culture since the ancient times. And this is what makes the Japanese people love them so much and continue to believe in Kitsune, tell tales of them, and show them through art. With the start of the Edo period art boom, the interest to share some of the local tales through art increased the sharing of these old tales and created new ones, thus furthering these old and new tales into an ever-expanding world of art.
Images
Fig 1 - The Fox-Woman Leaving Her Child, Shinkei sanjūrokkaisen (Thirty-Six Ghosts and Demons) series, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Woodblock print.
Fig 2 – Dancing Fox, Ohara Koson (1877-1945). Woodblock print.
Fig 3 – Nine-tailed Fox (Kyūbi no kitsune), Gekkō zuihitsu (Gekkō’s Miscellany) series, Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920). Woodblock print.
Fig 4 – Prince Hanzoku Terrorized by a Nine-Tailed Fox, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). Woodblock print.
Fig 5 – The Magic Fox of Three Countries (sangoku yoko zue), Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). Woodblock print.
Fig 6-7 – Kitsune Guardian Statue. Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan.
Fig 8-10– Kitsune Guardian Statues. Toyokawa Inari Shrine, Toyokawa, Japan.
Fig 11-12 – Kitsune Guardian Statues. Keihin Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kamata, Kawasaki, Japan.
Fig 13 – Fox Fire (New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree), Meisho Edo hakkei (One Hundred Views of Edo) series, Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858). Woodblock print.
Fig 14 – Inrō with Fox’s Wedding (Kitsune no yomeiri). Five cases; lacquered wood with gold, silver takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, togidashimaki-e, irokomaki-e, kirikane (cut out gold foil) on nashiji ("pear skin") and black lacquer background. 3 7/16 in x 2 3/8 in x 1 1/8 in. (8.7 x 6 x 2.9 cm). Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, D.C.
Fig 15 – Fox Wedding Procession, Yamamoto Shōun (1870-1965). Woodblock print. 9 in x 9 5/16 in (22.9 cm x 23.7 cm). Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, D.C.
Fig 16 – Wedding Procession of Foxes (Kitsune no yomeiri), Mokugo zuan shû (Mokugo’s Picture Collection), Asai Chû (1856-1907). Woodblock print. 9 1/16 in x 14 3/4 in (23 cm x 37.4 cm). Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Fig 17 – Yaji Thinks Kita is a Fox, Gojūsantsugi meisho zu-e (Vertical Tokaido) series, Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858). Woodblock print.
Fig 18 – Fox Cry, Tsuki hyakushi (One Hundred Aspects of the Moon) series, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Woodblock print.
Fig 19 – Fox with Jewel Between Paws, Masanao. Wood, elephant ivory, glass and horn. 1 ½ in x 1 ¾ in (3.8 cm x 4.5 cm). Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, D.C.Fig 20 – Netsuke of Fox Mask with Moveable Jaw. Edo period, Japan. Wood. 1 ¾ in x 1 ¼ in x 1 ½ in (4.4 cm x 3.2 cm x 3.8 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Fig 20 – Netsuke of Fox Mask with Moveable Jaw. Edo period, Japan. Wood. 1 ¾ in x 1 ¼ in x 1 ½ in (4.4 cm x 3.2 cm x 3.8 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Fig 21 – Netsuke of Kyōgen Mask; Kitsune. Edo or Meiji period, Japan. Wood. 1 3/8 in x 1 1/8 in x 1 5/8 in (3.5 cm x 2.9 cm x 4.1 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Fig 22-26 – Kitsune Masks
Bibliography
Addiss, Stephen. Japanese Ghosts & Demons. New York: Braziller, George and The Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1985. Pg 124-137.
Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yōkai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. California: University of California Press, 2015. Pg 1-99, 177-186.
“Fox: Tricky Shape-Shifter or Deity Guardian?” National Gallery of Art: Animals in Japanese Folklore: Animal Stories. 2019. Accessed May 2022. https://www.nga.gov/features/life-of-animals-in-japanese-art.html#animal-stories.
Jordan, Brenda G. “The Trickster in Japanese Art.” Education About Asia 18, no. 1 (2013).
Kincaid, Christopher. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Delaware: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.
Nozaki, Kiyoshi. Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. Japan: The Hokuseido Press, 1961.
Vachan, Matt. “Everything to Know About the Inari Fox – Japan’s Cutest Sacred Animal.” Tsunagu Japan. May 14, 2020. Accessed May 2022. https://www.tsunagujapan.com/inari-fox-japan/.
Notes
[I] Christopher Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. (Delaware: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015), Pg 27-29. [II] Kiyoshi Nozaki. Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. (Japan: The Hokuseido Press, 1961), Pg 112-113. Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Pg 22-23, 117-123. [III] Matt Vachan. “Everything to Know About the Inari Fox – Japan’s Cutest Sacred Animal.” Tsunagu Japan. May 14, 2020. Accessed May 2022. https://www.tsunagujapan.com/inari-fox-japan/. [IV] Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Pg 75. [V] “Fox: Tricky Shape-Shifter or Deity Guardian?” National Gallery of Art: Animals in Japanese Folklore: Animal Stories. 2019. Accessed May 2022. https://www.nga.gov/features/life-of-animals-in-japanese-art.html#animal-stories. [VI] Nozaki. Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. Pg 191-195. [VII] Stephen Addiss. Japanese Ghosts & Demons. (New York: Braziller, George and The Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, 1985), Pg 135. [VIII] Addiss. Japanese Ghosts & Demons. Pg 135. [IX] Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Pg 44-45. [X] Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Pg 46. [XI] Kincaid. Come and Sleep: The Folklore of the Japanese Fox. Pg 47-48. Nozaki. Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. Pg 33-35. [XII]Nozaki. Japan’s Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor. Pg 183-185. [XIII] Vachan. “Everything to Know About the Inari Fox – Japan’s Cutest Sacred Animal.”