'The fox woman of Suwa in Shinano'
- Date:
- 19th century
- Medium:
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Victoria and Albert Museum
Description
"The Fox Woman of Suwa in Shinano" depicts a kitsune-onna—a fox spirit in female human form—associated with the Suwa region of Shinano Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture), where the great Suwa Taisha shrine was a major center of fox deity worship. Fox women in Japanese folklore were figures of dangerous supernatural beauty, capable of bewitching men and causing madness. Yoshitoshi renders the figure in the ambiguous register he preferred for supernatural subjects: beautiful enough to attract, uncanny enough to disturb.
More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
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
'The fox woman of Suwa in Shinano' was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 19th century.
'The fox woman of Suwa in Shinano' depicts animals.