Fox with Nine Tails

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.