Kyubikitsune

'Kyubikitsune,' the nine-tailed fox, refers to a mythological figure long established in East Asian folklore and associated in Japan with the legend of Tamamo no Mae — a courtesan who served Emperor Toba before being exposed as a malevolent fox spirit. In Japanese print tradition the subject appears in works by Kuniyoshi and others, often shown mid-transformation or with the multiple tails revealed. The print likely depicts the fox-woman during metamorphosis, with patterned robes and the multiple tails radiating behind her, or in pure animal form against a stylized landscape. Such yokai-e subjects test the registration of the keyblock, since the multiple tails and shifting forms demand careful figure-ground composition. Within Takahashi Hiromitsu's apparent body of work in theatrical and legendary subjects, the print connects to kabuki dramatizations of the Tamamo no Mae legend, including 'Tamamo no Mae Asahi no Tamoto.'