Minneapolis Institute of Art

Foxes' Wedding Procession

Nakabayashi Chikkei

Date: 19th century
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

According to Japanese folk belief, foxes are messengers of the gods and protectors of shrines dedicated to Inari, the god of grain. Foxes’ supernatural power, it was believed, enables them to emit a small flame-like light. Atmospheric conditions that produce mysterious light in the distance at night came to be explained as the wedding processions of foxes. And because of foxes’ association with Inari, enactments of fox weddings were sometimes held in pre-modern Japan to ensure a bountiful harvest. Paintings of fox wedding processions, like this one, were accordingly auspicious. Asia

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