White Fox Fairies 2
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Typical Price
Key value factors: As self-carved and self-printed works, sosaku-hanga value is tied to the artist's reputation and edition size. Larger formats, earlier editions, and historically significant works command the highest prices.
- Common examples: $100–$500
- Good impressions: $500–$2,000
- Premium/scarce: $2,000–$10,000
Description
This woodblock print from Okamoto Yoshimi's "White Fox" series depicts fox spirits in a second iteration that extends the artist's engagement with kitsune mythology. In Japanese folklore, white foxes are messengers of the deity Inari and possess supernatural powers including shape-shifting and the ability to create illusions. The "2" in the title marks this as a continuation of a narrative or thematic sequence, building on the first "White Fox" composition with new visual interpretations of the fox spirit subject. Okamoto renders these mythological creatures through the woodblock medium, which has its own deep connection to Japanese supernatural imagery through centuries of ghost prints and yokai illustrations. The white fox's spectral coloring, achieved through the absence of ink as much as through its application, gives these spirit beings a luminous, otherworldly presence on the printed page.
