Foxes' Wedding Procession by Nakabayashi Chikkei

Foxes' Wedding Procession c. 19th century

hanging-scroll, ink, color-on-paper

landscape illustration sketch

amateur sketch

light pencil work

pencil sketch

incomplete sketchy

etching

japan

hanging-scroll

ink

color-on-paper

watercolour illustration

fantasy sketch

watercolor

environment sketch

“Foxes’ Wedding Procession” (c. 19th century) is a hanging scroll by Japanese artist Nakabayashi Chikkei (1816-1867). In the painting, two pine trees stand tall in the foreground, their branches extending across the picture plane. Hints of a procession of foxes are visible amongst the brushstrokes, hinting at the subject of the artwork, “Foxes’ Wedding Procession.” This scroll is a beautiful example of the artist's style, characterized by delicate brushwork and a subtle use of color. This painting can be found in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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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.