Kitsune Orenji Sculpture

A Kitsune is an ancient Japanese mythological creature, a fox shapeshifter from lore who can metamorphosise into human form by placing a human skull on its head. They can be tricksters or beneficial if one happens to meet one alone in the forest. They can have up to 9 tails, the more tails they have, the older and wiser they are. Their magical powers are held in their spirit ball which is carried in their tails. If a human possesses their spirit ball, they can control the Kitsune. One story goes that a kind, poor, young man happened upon a hurt vixen in the forest and came to her rescue then tended to her wounds. The fox in turn transformed into a beautiful geisha and told the man to take her to the nearest town and sell her to the brothel that paid the highest price. Reluctantly he did as he was instructed, took the money and guiltily went back to the forest. That night the Kitsune transformed back into fox form and escaped the brothel and found the young man in the forest, turned back into a geisha and they lived happily ever after as husband and wife in a cottage in the woods with their newfound riches. The Kimono I used to create this piece is a second-hand vintage child’s kimono that luckily came to me in a “bag of fabrics”. The fur is ethically sourced.