Tanuki
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
Description
The tanuki — a raccoon dog central to Japanese folklore as a shapeshifting trickster — appears here as both animal subject and cultural icon. Kasamatsu portrays the creature with affectionate specificity, capturing the rounded body, masked face, and ambling posture that made tanuki a beloved motif in Japanese ceramics and garden sculpture. The print sits at the intersection of natural history observation and folk mythology, a combination Kasamatsu handled with characteristic warmth.
More Prints by Shiro Kasamatsu
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
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tanuki was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Tanuki was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Tanuki depicts animals.