Posted by John Fiorillo on September 27, 1998 at 21:48:27:
In Reply to: Nine-tailed fox triptych: Artist? posted by Ann D. on September 27, 1998 at 11:22:49:
: Several years ago, at a local antique show, a dealer had for sale
: a triptych entitled: "Manifestation of the Nine-Tailed Fox". One
: one panel was a fox-like creature (with nine bushy tails!), jumping
: in the air. On the far opposite panel were several warriors shooting
: arrows at the fox. The middle panel displayed the arrows in flight.
: I was fascinated by this work but it was beyond my limited budget.
: I do not recall the artist.
: Can anyone tell me the name of the artist of this work, and any
: more about it? For instance, what myth (if any) is represented?
: Thanks!
: Ann
Response from JF:
I cannot say which print you saw or who the artist might have been, but it should not be surprising that the subject involved a fox ("kitsune"), for stories about foxes were among the most popular subjects in Japanese folklore and thus were treated countless times in ukiyo-e prints by many artists. The fox was believed to be capable of transforming itself into human or other animal forms for the purpose of trickery and evil, though occasionally for good, as in the famous story of "Kuzunoha," the fox saved by a hunter who transforms herself into a princess and bears the hunter’s child, only to be forced finally into returning to her fox world. The best known play about this story was the puppet drama Ashiya Dôman Ôuchi kagami ("Mirror of Ashiya Dôman and Ôuchi"), sometimes called simply Kuzunoha, first performed at the Takemoto-za, Osaka in October 1734. Foxes appeared in the Nô, puppet, and kabuki theaters – in kabuki one famous story dramatized the loyal fox who took the form of a warrior ally of the general Minamoto no Yoshitsune by impersonating Sato Tadanobu in the play Hanayagura hitome senbon ("A Thousand Fragrances in the Flower Tower") given at the Naka-za, Osaka in 5/1835. It was an adaptation of the masterpiece Yoshitsune senbon zakura ("Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees") first performed at the Takemoto-za, Osaka in 1747. In the play the fox performs several dances, called kitsune roppô ("fox in six directions"), where the actor’s movements are agitated as he jumps about or crouches to mime the movements of a wild animal, and the actor’s voice is high pitched and unevenly modulated. The actor will typically put his hands in the "fox paws" position, a gesture often seen in ukiyo-e prints. Also in ukiyo-e prints, the presence of a fox in disguise is frequently signaled by "fox fires" (kitsunebi) that hover or flicker against a black night sky. The fox also appeared in poetry, song, folk tales, fairy tales, and games (kitsune-ken, or the fox’s hand game, was similar to our game of rock-paper-scissors, in which hand positions represented a man, who beats a gun, which beats a fox, which beats a man). Foxes were feared in feudal Japan because their transformations could lead to human unhappiness or harm. Yet the humorous element in fox trickery was often depicted in Japanese prints. One charming story repeated in many variations was the "Kitsune no yomeiri" or fox-wedding. As for the nine-tailed white fox, it appears in myths going back as far as the twelfth century (and probably much earlier), when the fox was said to have entered Japan after fleeing from India and China. This fox was malicious, so the triptych you saw might have involved an attempt to slay the wicked creature.