Collection
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Artist
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
Japan
1839 - 1892

About
This work depicts a shapeshifting badger, known as tanuki in Japanese. It tells the story of a woodcutter who had saved a badger and, in appreciation, the badger turned itself into a tea kettle. The woodcutter sold the kettle to Morin Temple but the tea kettle had an uncomfortable existence there are it did not like being rubbed, cleaned or placed over the fire. One day when a monk heated the kettle, it became so aggravated it turned back into the badger and tried to escape. The tanuki was caught and placed in a box where it turned back into the kettle. There are two endings to the story, in one the badger escaped and returned to the woodcutter. The woodcutter had become an entertainer and the tanuki assisted him by dancing and doing tricks to attract money. In another version, the monks realised the kettle was special so kept it in a box where it lived a life of comfort and ease. This print shows the badger wearing a priest’s robe and taking a nap in the temple where he was in the habit of transforming himself. The presence of the kettle nearby is the reminder of the badger’s story.
Details
Date
1892
Materials used
colour woodblock print
Dimensions
36.0 x 25.0 cm
Credit
Yasuko Myer Bequest Fund 2018
Location
Not on display
Accession number
582.2018.2
