The
print shows Kuzunoha (a name that means kudzu, a
wild vine, leaf), a beautiful girl that was in reality a
fox. In the Japanese folk tradition the fox is credited
with supernatural powers, and can assume a human form. The
story of Kuzunoha has countless versions, which originated
several kabuki plays.
The
best known tells that Abe no Yasuna, a twelfth century
nobleman, saved a fox from some hunters. Some days later
he met a beautiful maiden, whom he married. They had a
son, Abe no Seimei, who later become a famous astrologue
and exorcist.
After
three years Kuzunoha disappeared, being forced to assume
her true fox nature, leaving behind a famous farewell
poem: "If you think of me, love, come seek me in the forests of
Shinoda, and you will find a kudzu leaf".
The
print depicts Kuzunoha when she bodes farewell to her
sleeping son. She look at him over a screen that shows, on
her shadow, her true fox nature. According to
Japanese beliefs shadows and reflections show the true
nature of supernatural beeings.
The
relation with the second Genji chapters is not very clear.
This chapter presents a debate about the true nature of
the several types of women, which could connect to the
plot of the Kuzunoha story, which is about her double
nature, human and fox.
