Kitsune with 5 tails

Kitsune is my special love, a mythical yokai creature with superpowers! I love how   are often cast as seductresses in folktales, with a young man typically marrying a beautiful woman (unaware she’s a fox) and placing great value on her devotion. Kitsune are often credited with possessing other people’s bodies, creating fire, appearing in people’s dreams, and creating illusions so complex they’re almost indistinguishable from reality. Some stories go even further, telling of Kitsune capable of bending space and time, driving people mad, or assuming inhuman or fantastical forms. But in Japanese folklore, Kitsune are sometimes considered deceivers, sometimes downright evil. Kitsune are believed to possess exceptional intelligence, longevity, and magical powers. They are a type of yokai. My version of Kitsune is a five-tailed fox in a luxurious kimono, about to transform into a beauty! Her red hakama with a golden sheen adds a joyful touch to the overall palette. But the fox is perplexed; tying the skull with rope using her paws is no easy task. To achieve her perfect human form, she needs a skull—a powerful artifact for the final transformation. However, despite her magical power, her fox paws prove too clumsy to tie the thin rope, and she is caught off guard while trying to attach the skull to her head. The luxurious golden kimono, along with the fan with a procession of foxes on the back, emphasize her mystical and regal status, and her physical awkwardness makes the image incredibly touching.
This netsuke is a subtle reflection on how even the greatest magicians face challenges. Deep relief manju – “Shishiaibori” “Kitsune with five tails”, mammoth tusk, diameter 6.5 cm, thickness 2 cm.

2023.Russia, private collection.