The kitsune Kuzunoha. Note the shadow of a fox cast on the screen. Print by Kuniyoshi.

Kuzunoha (葛の葉, Kuzunoha^?), also written Kuzu-no-Ha, is the name of a popular kitsune character in Japanese folklore. Her name means arrowroot leaf. Legend states that she is the mother of Abe no Seimei, the famous onmyōji. Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (500x698, 120 KB) Kuniyoshi Ichiyusai, ukiyo-e color print of Kuzunoha the fox woman. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (500x698, 120 KB) Kuniyoshi Ichiyusai, ukiyo-e color print of Kuzunoha the fox woman. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese: 歌川国芳) (1798 - 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese woodblock print. ... Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox. ... Japanese folklore is the folklore of Japan. ... Binomial name Maranta arundinacea L. Arrowroot, or obedience plant, (Maranta arundinacea) is a large perennial herb of genus Maranta found in rainforest habitats. ... Abe no Seimei ) (921?-1005?) was an onmyoji, a leading specialist of onmyodo during the middle of the Heian Period in Japan. ... An Onmyōji is a shaman that controls the power of leaf spirits called shikigami. ...

Legend

The Fox-woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child. A famous print by Yoshitoshi depicting Kuzunoha's departure.

The young nobleman Abe no Yasuna, on his way to visit a shrine in Shinoda, in Settsu Province, encounters a young military commissioner who is hunting foxes in order to obtain their livers for use as medicine. Yasuna battles the hunter, sustaining several wounds in the process, and sets free the white fox he had trapped. Afterward, a beautiful woman named Kuzunoha comes along and helps him return to his home. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 404 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (539 × 800 pixel, file size: 270 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Fox-woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child, a woodblock print by Yoshitoshi from New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (1889-1892). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 404 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (539 × 800 pixel, file size: 270 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The Fox-woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child, a woodblock print by Yoshitoshi from New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (1889-1892). ... Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (Owariya Yonejiro): 1839 - 1892 Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839 - June 9, 1892) (Japanese: 月岡 芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi 大蘇 芳年) was the last great master - and one of the great innovative and creative geniuses - of the Japanese woodblock print, Ukiyo-e. ... A torii is a gate leading to a jinja. ... Settsu province (摂津国, Settsu no kuni), Tsu province (津国, Tsu no kuni), or Sesshu (摂州, Sesshū) was a province of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ...

In reality, this woman is the fox he had saved, adopting human form in order to tend to his wounds. He falls in love with her, and they marry. Later, she bears him a child, Seimei (childhood name Dōji), who proves prodigiously clever. Kuzunoha realizes that her son has inherited part of her supernatural nature. Abe no Seimei ) (921?-1005?) was an onmyoji, a leading specialist of onmyodo during the middle of the Heian Period in Japan. ...

Several years later, while Kuzunoha is viewing the chrysanthemums, her son catches sight of the tip of her tail. Her true nature revealed, Kuzunoha prepares to depart to return to her life in the wild. She leaves behind a farewell poem, asking her husband Yasuna to come to see her in Shinoda forest. Species Chrysanthemum aphrodite Chrysanthemum arcticum Chrysanthemum argyrophyllum Chrysanthemum arisanense Chrysanthemum boreale Chrysanthemum chalchingolicum Chrysanthemum chanetii Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium Chrysanthemum crassum Chrysanthemum glabriusculum Chrysanthemum hypargyrum Chrysanthemum indicum Chrysanthemum japonense Chrysanthemum japonicum Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium Chrysanthemum mawii Chrysanthemum maximowiczii Chrysanthemum mongolicum Chrysanthemum morifolium Chrysanthemum morii Chrysanthemum okiense Chrysanthemum oreastrum Chrysanthemum ornatum Chrysanthemum pacificum Chrysanthemum... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ...

Yasuna and her son search Shinoda for Kuzunoha, and eventually she appears to them as a fox. Revealing that she is the kami, or deific spirit, of Shinoda shrine, she gives her son Seimei a gift, allowing him to comprehend the language of beasts.^[1] “Megami” redirects here. ...

Plays

Kuzunoha figures in kabuki and bunraku plays based on her legend, including the five-part Ashiya Dōman Ōuchi Kagami (The Mirror of Ashiya Dōman and Ōuchi). The fourth part, Kuzunoha or The Fox of Shinoda, which is frequently performed independently of the other scenes, focuses on her story, adding minor variations such as the idea that Kuzunoha imitates a princess and is forced to depart not because Seimei glimpsed her tail but because the real woman unexpectedly appears.^[1][2] The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ... Bunraku (Japanese: 文楽), also known as Ningyō jōruri (人形浄瑠璃), is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684. ...

In Izumi

In Izumi there is a Kuzunoha Inari shrine, said to be built upon the place at which Kuzunoha departed, leaving her farewell poem on a silk screen. ^[3] Izumi ) is a city located in Osaka, Japan. ... Inari and her fox spirits help the blacksmith Munechika forge the blade ko-kitsune-maru (Little Fox) in the late 10th century. ...

The poem itself has become famous: "Koishiku ba / tazunekite miyo / izumi naru / shinoda no mori no / urami kuzunoha." Folklorist Kiyoshi Nozaki offers the following translation: "If you love me, darling, come and see me. / You will find me yonder in the great wood / Of Shinoda of Izumi Province where the leaves / Of arrowroots always rustle in pensive mood." ^[1]

A pond in the area is also remembered in connection with the legend, and has been designated a historic site by the city.^[3]

References

• Mailahn, Klaus: Der Fuchs in Glaube und Mythos, Münster 2006, 170-172, 179-184, ISBN 3-8258-9483-5

	Japanese Mythology & Folklore 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Amaterasu_cave_crop. ... Japanese mythology is a very complex system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion. ... Japanese folklore is the folklore of Japan. ...
	Mythic Texts and Folktales: Kojiki | Nihon Shoki | Otogizōshi | Yotsuya Kaidan Urashima Tarō | Kintarō | Momotarō | Tamamo-no-Mae Divinities: Izanami | Izanagi | Amaterasu Susanoo | Ama-no-Uzume | Inari List of divinities | Kami | Seven Lucky Gods Legendary Creatures: Oni | Kappa | Tengu | Tanuki | Fox | Yōkai | Dragon Mythical and Sacred Locations: Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji | Izumo | Ryūgū-jō | Takamagahara | Yomi Kojiki or Furukotofumi (古事記), also known in English as the Records of Ancient Matters, is the oldest surviving historical book recounting events of ancient earth in the Japanese language. ... Nihonshoki (日本書紀) is the second oldest history book about the ancient history of Japan. ... Illustration from otogizōshi tale, published c. ... Yotsuya Kaidan (四つ谷怪談) is a Japanese ghost story. ... Urashima Tarō ) is a Japanese fairy tale about a fisherman who rescues a turtle and is rewarded with a visit to the RyÅ«gÅ«-jō, the Dragon Palace. ... This article is about the Japanese folklore hero; for the Mortal Kombat character, see Kintaro (Mortal Kombat character). ... Bisque doll of Momotarō Momotarō (桃太郎) is a hero from Japanese folklore. ... Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前) is a legendary figure in Japanese mythology. ... In Japanese mythology, Izanami (Katakana: イザナミ; Kanji: 伊弉冉尊 or 伊邪那美命, meaning She who invites) is a goddess of both creation and death, as well as the former wife of the god Izanagi. ... 天瓊を以て滄海を探るの図. Painting by Eitaku Kobayashi (Meiji period). ... The Sun goddess emerging out of a cave, bringing sunlight back to the universe. ... Susanoo, (Japanese: 須佐之男命, Susa-no-O-no-Mikoto; also romanized as Susanoo, Susa-no-O, and Susanowo) in Shinto is the god of the sea and storms. ... Categories: Stub | Japanese goddesses ... Inari and her fox spirits help the blacksmith Munechika forge the blade ko-kitsune-maru (Little Fox) in the late 10th century. ... This is a list of divinities native to Japanese beliefs and religious traditions. ... “Megami” redirects here. ... The seven fortune gods (七福神, shichi fukujin) in Japan refer to the seven gods of good fortune in Japanese folklore: ; . They are often the subject of netsuke carvings and other representations. ... A statue of a red oni wielding a tetsubo. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... Tengu and a Buddhist monk, by Kawanabe Kyōsai. ... Pottery statue of tanuki Wild Tanuki Mt. ... Prince Hanzoku terrorized by a nine-tailed fox. ... ukiyo-e print of yōkai, by Aotoshi Matsui Yōkai apparitions, spirits, or demons, also romanized youkai, yokai, or yookai) are a class of obake, creatures in Japanese folklore (many with Chinese origins) ranging from the evil oni to the mischievous kitsune or snow woman Yuki-onna. ... Japanese Dragon water fountain in Fujiyoshida. ... Mount Hiei (Jp. ... Mount Fuji Mount Fuji , IPA: )   is the highest mountain in Japan. ... Izumo (Japanese: 出雲国; Izumo no kuni) was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane prefecture in the Chugoku region. ... In Japanese mythology, RyÅ«gÅ«-jō (竜宮城) is the undersea palace of RyÅ«jin, the dragon god of the sea. ... Takama-ga-hara (Japanese: 高天原), or The High Plain of Heaven, is a place in Japanese mythology. ... This article is about the location in japanese mythology. ...
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