Minneapolis Institute of Art

New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Hackberry Tree in Ōji

Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Sakanaya Eikichi

Date: 1857, 9th month
Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper with mica
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

Most prints in Hiroshige’s series illustrate actual views, but this scene is imaginary. It is nighttime, and a group of white foxes are gathered around a large hackberry tree. Many more foxes approach in the distance, each of them with flaming breath, called “foxfire.” This eerie scene is believed to happen once every year on New Year’s Eve, when the foxes, messengers of the god Inari, help farmers predict the crops for the following year. Situated between the trees in the background is the Ōji Inari Shrine, where Inari, the god of fertility, industry, and agriculture, is worshipped. Japan, Asia

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New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Hackberry Tree in Ōji

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