Netsuke Mask Depicting Kitsune, Japan, Meiji

This netsuke terracotta mask, of the Onko-yaki type, comes from Gifu Prefecture, a region known for the richness of its lands and the finesse of its ceramic tradition. It represents Kitsune, the fox messenger of the deity Inari. 5 cm high, it dates from the Meiji period. The modeling is clear and taut: the erect ears, pierced nostrils, and wrinkled muzzle convey a restrained vigilance, typical of the ambivalent figure it embodies. Kitsune occupies a central place in Japanese folklore. He is both a messenger of Inari, the deity of harvests, and a shapeshifting spirit, capable of taking human, often female, form. Sometimes benevolent, sometimes manipulative, he crosses popular tales as an in-between figure. Kyōgen theater makes him a cunning, mocking, and sometimes mischievous character; in Noh, he becomes the bearer of a more tragic dimension, linked to transformation and loss of self. Onko-yaki terracotta, specific to Gifu, is rich in iron oxide and fired at a low temperature. It is neither engobed nor glazed, which allows the density and warmth of the material to be highlighted. This type of production, reserved for miniature netsuke masks, testifies to a refined craftsmanship, cultivated separately from mass-produced objects. This Kitsune mask, rare for its state of preservation and the accuracy of its volumes, condenses in a small form the expressive force of theater and the imagination of popular beliefs. It embodies, through clay, a living fragment of Japanese visual culture of the Meiji period.