KITSUNE

In the collection of kaidan "Otogi-boko" ("Puppets", 1666) Asai Ryoi has a story "The story of the fox that absorbed the energy of the daimyō". It describes in detail the process of the transformation of a fox into a man: "Walking along the banks of the Shinohara River in the dim light of a foggy autumn evening, he saw a fox praying frantically, turning north, standing on its hind legs, with a human skull on its head. Every time the fox bowed in prayer, the skull fell from her head. However, the fox put it back and continued to pray, facing north, as before. The skull rolled down many times, but in the end it was firmly fixed on the head. The fox read the prayer about a hundred times" . After that, the fox turned into a young girl. Mammoth tusk, height 5.8 cm, Urushi black matte, red. Toning - Yashabushi - dye from alder cones. Fox eye inlay: red mother-of-pearl snail shell, amber. Girl's eyes inlay: white mother-of-pearl, amber. Braided cord. August, 2022. Russia, a private collection.