Japanese Print Nine Tailed Fox Yokai Samurai

This print was made by Utagawa Kunihisa II (1832-1891), and was published by Yamadaya Shojiro in September 1858. Its name is 三浦上総両介那須野九尾狐討取 "Miuranosuke and Kazusanosuke defeat the nine-tailed fox on the Nasu moor", we see samurai hunting a nine-tailed fox in this triptych. It has some missing parts in one of the corners and some wear and tear over time, but this does not detract from the splendor of the scene depicted. There is reinforcing paper at the back. This print is taken from a legend called Tama-Mo no Maye which has a host of variations. According to one version, Tama-no no Mayé was a favorite concubine of Emperor Toba (1107-1123). Legend tells us that one day the emperor fell dangerously ill and that the court astrologer was consulted on the subject. This astrologer, who was none other than the famous Abé no Seimei, declared that the cause of the illness was The emperor's illness had to be sought in his closest entourage. He began his investigations and discovered that the emperor's concubine, the beautiful Tama-mo Mayé, had, in the darkness, a halo around her head. This was a sure sign that she was the incarnation of an evil fox or cat and, therefore, the cause of the monarch's illness. Abé obtained permission to erect an altar in the palace garden to make necessary offerings and incantations, and all the nobles and servants of the emperor. Despite her excuses and pretexts for not attending the ceremony, Tama-no no Mayé was expressly asked to come too. But as soon as she approached the altar, she took on her natural appearance (that of a nine-tailed fox "Kimmo kyubi no kitsune") and fled, in the middle of a terrible storm, into the marshes of Nasu in shimotsuké. From that day on, the emperor began to regain his strength and soon after recovered his health. As for the fox, he was later pursued and killed by the archers Kazusa no Suké and Miura no Suké who had trained for a hundred days by hunting his dogs. The dying animal transformed into a so-called poisonous stone, the contact and shadow of which were fatal for animals and humans, it was later discovered that it was made of an arsenical mineral. Kunihisa Utagawa II (1823-1880) Few details are known about Kunisada II, born in 1823. He became Kunisada's student and signed his first works under the name Kunimasa (III). The first known prints of Kunisada II date from 1844. In 1846, Kunisada adopted Kunisada II after marrying his eldest daughter Osuzu. The name change from Kunimasa III to Kunisada II occurred in late 1850 or early 1851, around the time Kunisada bequeathed his house of Kameido to Kunisada II. Kunisada II continued in Kunisada's style, but never reached his master's level of success. He mainly created prints of actors, but was also interested in other subjects such as beautiful women, prints of Genji or eroticism, sometimes in collaboration with other artists. With nearly 200 different titles, Kunisada II was a prolific book illustrator. We know of a little over forty series of prints by him. He worked for around fifty publishers, notably Tsutaya Kichikzō. The popularity of his work declined significantly during the early Meiji era. He continued to direct the Utagawa school with a few students like Kunisada III (Utagawa Kunimasa IV 1848-1920) and changed his name at the end of 1870, as his teacher Kunisada had done before him, now calling himself Toyokuni (IV). However, he designed few prints or illustrated books in the 1870s and seems to have stopped completely after 1874. Aged 58, Kunisada II died on July 20, 1880. His posthumous Buddhist name is Sankōin Hōkokujutei Shinji and , like Toyokuni