Nine tail fox
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Description
The nine-tailed fox—kyubi no kitsune, a creature of immense supernatural power that appears in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean mythology—was associated with the legendary enchantress Tamamo no Mae, who disguised herself as a beautiful woman to corrupt the court of Emperor Toba. Gekko's rendering would have depicted the fox in its supernatural form, the nine tails a symbol of accumulated centuries of shapeshifting power, the animal's human-like face expressing malevolent intelligence.
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
Nine tail fox was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Nine tail fox depicts animals.