The Coal Pit (Yama) and the Fox (Fox Hunter)
1958 - 1963

Yama to Kitsune (Kitsune Taiji no Ryoshi)
[The Coal Pit (Yama) and the Fox (Fox Hunter)]
21.1 x 30.0 cm Ink Painting

The Rampancy of Foxes
The fields, mountains and farm villages abounded in foxes until the middle of the Meiji era (1868-1912). The people at that time felt that they were liable to be made fools of, deceived or possessed by the foxes. Someone told me about the interesting delirious utterances of a fox. The fox reportedly said that it was most afraid of guns (ataripon) as well as one-eyed men with bent right elbows (hunters aiming it with guns). It is said that foxes pass gas (zundobe; final desperate tactics) when they stand in fear of death, and that the bad smell of the gas paralyzes both the hunters and the dogs. (It is said that foxes possess someone in order to talk to other people.)

Famous Foxes in Kaho and Iizuka Districts at That Time:
Kichisuke from Karasu-toge (Karasuo-toge) Pass
Tosuke from Tobikawa
Sanzo from Ikawa
Osan from Rembun (sic: normally Bembun)
These were the bosses of the wild foxes.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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