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Folklore
Insofar the Japanese don't eat them, they entertain an elaborate
folklore about the raccoon dog, or Tanuki as it is called there.
In it, the tanuki stands for the power of metamorphosis, an aspect
also visible in daily contact. The statues shown above are for good luck.
Here's a number of links.
The
Tanuki Art Gallery
This folkloristic art and its meaning can be admired
at the above site.
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| A 19th century wood netsuke from the
Nagoya region of Japan. It depicts the tanuki no hara tsuzumi,
that would sit by the roadside and waylay travelers by beating
with its paw on its scrotum. It is signed Ikkan and is 3.1 cm.
high. |
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| Ojime (cord fastner) carved from a
natural walnut shell depicting the bumbuku chagama (the miracle
teapot). It is the story of a priest who put a kettle on the fire.
The kettle suddenly changed shape, with four legs on the bottom,
the spout transforming into the neck and head of a raccoon dog,
and a long bushy tail shooting out at the back. The ojime is signed
Ikko. |
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| This delightful bronze Tanuki dates
to circa 1880. He measures 8.5 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide.
The detail of this bronze work is outstanding as evidenced by
the definition of his coat and other adornments. Every piece of
hair stands out in relief to the next and his face displays a
mischievous look and he carries a drum around his neck. This work
contains two different bronze colors and textures; a dark bronze
for Tanuki and his robe, and a redder bronze for his drum. |
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Porcelain figure depicting a Tanuki as a ghost, signed made
by Shimizu Rokuroku. The figure is legless, which is how it
is identified as a ghost. This is a very unusual representation
of the Tanuki in Japanese art. Normally the Tanuki was portrayed
with a distended scrotum and/or with a sake bottle.
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Late 19th century Shigaraki kiln ceramic figure of a Tanuki
that served as a hand warmer or perhaps incense burner. It measures
12.5 cm by 12.5 cm.
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Wood Okimono of a Tanuki walking, with a sunshade over his
shoulder and carrying a sake bottle. An okimono (literally
"placed objects") is a carved object, normally larger and less
compact than the netsuke, and, unlike the netsuke, it requires
no place for attachment of a cord. It is placed into tokonoma
or display shelf. This example is from the Meiji era and 30
cm. high.
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This 19th Century Japanese Poem Card depicts a walking Tanuki with a sunshade over his
shoulder and carrying a sake bottle.
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