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Fox with Staff (Hakuzōsu)

Eiraku Hozen Japanese
after 1848
Not on view
A Kyoto potter with close ties to the literati in his city and a similar taste for Chinese styles, Hozen was known for his highly colored wares and for his use of gold. A different side of his urbanity comes through in this rather personal painting, perhaps tempered by the business failures he experienced in his later years. A few economic brush strokes create the figure of a fox-priest, the protagonist in the comic kyōgen play The Fox Trapper (Kirigitsune). The enigmatic poem cautions:

Beware of those who have renounced the world
although they wear the robes of priests
at heart they are foxes still.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fox with Staff (Hakuzōsu)
  • Artist: Eiraku Hozen (Japanese, 1795–1854)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: after 1848
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 38 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. (97.8 x 28.6 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 68 1/2 x 11 3/4 in. (174 x 29.8 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 68 1/2 x 14 in. (174 x 35.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: 36.100.95
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Flower Pot, Eiraku Hozen Japanese, Paste covered with a transparent crackled glaze (Kyoto ware), Japan
Flower Pot
Eiraku Hozen
19th century
Vase, Eiraku Hozen Japanese, White porcelain decorated with gold on an iron red ground, Japan
Vase
Eiraku Hozen
1820
Incense Box, Eiraku Hozen Japanese, Clay covered inside with a transparent crackled glaze and outside with polychrome glazes (Kyoto ware), Japan
Incense Box
Eiraku Hozen
1800
Fire Bowl
Eiraku Hozen
1800
Bottle for Sweets
Eiraku Hozen
1800

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