Dancing Fox
by Ohara Koson
- Date:
- 1900–1910s
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
by Ohara Koson
Koson's vast output of ~450 designs spans birds, flowers, fish, insects, and occasional landscapes. While his large production keeps most prints accessible, early Kokkeido-period impressions with muted, elegant Meiji-era coloring are distinctly more sought after than the brighter later Watanabe editions.
A fox stands upright in human pose — the kitsune (fox) of Japanese folklore, a supernatural creature of intelligence and transformation that has haunted the national imagination from the earliest recorded history. The dancing fox invokes the tradition of the kitsune playing a flute or performing ritual gestures, caught between its animal nature and its supernatural powers. Koson treats this mythological subject with the same formal care he brings to his naturalistic bird-and-flower work, the fox balanced between creature and spirit.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Dancing Fox was created by Ohara Koson (小原古邨) in 1900–1910s.
Dancing Fox was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (1900–1910s).
Dancing Fox depicts music and animals.
