Title : Kuzunoha Fox

Artist : Toyohara Kunichika

Date : 1898

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : Like The Fox Spirit Tadanobu by Kunichika on display nearby, this work showcases the artist's talent for actor portraiture. As in Kunichika's depiction of Tadanobu, which is from the same series, deep red is used with precision to create eye-catching accents. The cluster of leaves in the upper left corner alludes to the meaning of the character's name, Kuzunoha, or "kudzu leaves." Found in the Kabuki play A Courtly Mirror of Ashiya Döman, first staged in 1735, the story of the fox spirit Kuzunoha is one of the numerous tales involving animal wives in Japanese mythology. Like Genkurö, this fox strives to repay generosity. A young man, Abe no Yasuna, releases a fox from a hunter's net only to be accused afterwards of disloyalty to his lord. As he is about to kill himself, the freed fox takes the shape of his beloved, Kuzunoha, in order to stop him. It is this moment that the artist has captured. The mystical white fox conjures many of Kuzunoha's possessions including the bamboo pole and sedge hat seen here in order to convince Yasuna of her identity. The motivation changes from repayment to love as the fox spirit marries Yasuna and bears him a son, while still mimicking Kuzunoha's form. The family's happiness cannot last, however, as the real Kuzunoha reappears. With a tearful farewell, the fox spirit returns to her forest, leaving her husband and young son behind.

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