Fox with Nine Tails
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
- Image courtesy of
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
This print depicts Tamamo-no-Mae, the legendary nine-tailed fox (kyūbi no kitsune) of Japanese mythology who disguised herself as a court lady during the reign of Emperor Toba before being revealed as a malevolent supernatural being. The nine-tailed fox subject carried strong associations with seductive deception and the dangerous power of the supernatural feminine. Gekko likely renders the transformed creature — fox body with multiple radiant tails, or a woman in elegant court dress revealing the animal beneath — against a dramatic atmospheric ground. The subject had been treated by earlier ukiyo-e artists, but retained currency in Meiji prints as artists drew on classical legend for subjects with dramatic and fantastic appeal. Technical demands include multiple color layers for the luminous tails.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko
MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO
Woodblock print
Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆
Woodblock print
Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney
c. 1886–1899
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
More Animals Prints
Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Frequently Asked Questions
Fox with Nine Tails was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Fox with Nine Tails depicts animals.