Yamaguchi Soken “Half Human Half Fox”

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IItem No.	N20
Title	“Half Human Half Fox”
Overall size
Artwork size
Artist	By Yamaguchi Soken（1759～1818）
Date Created	1759～1818
Price	Contact us.

　A fox poses and peers into the water, using leaves as kimonos and hair ornaments. It is as if to say, “Am I beautiful? The reflection on the surface of the water is of a beautiful young woman, but if you look closely, you can see brown hair growing out of her face, shoulders, and arms. It is a playful work that makes you chuckle.
　The overall brushwork is rough and light, but the light coloring of the fox’s hair and the woman’s skin is exquisite. The inscription on the inscription reads, “けいせいの身しまひ部屋は藻をかつく狐も干鱈さけてこんこん　蜀山人（Keisei no mishimahibeya ha mo wo katsuku Kitsune mo hoshidara sakete konkon Shokusanjin）”.
　The foxes are biting the seaweed in the room where the body of Keisei is shimmering, and the dried codfish is dry and deadly.

　Yamaguchi Soken(1759-1818) was a painter active in Kyoto. He studied under Maruyama Okyo and excelled at portraying beautiful women. “Shokusanjin” is the pseudonym of Ota Nampo (1749-1823). Nampo was a representative literary figure of the Temmei period, and was also active as a kyoka poet.
　This work is included in the book “Choju giga no kuni: fun Japanese art” by Nobuhisa Kaneko (Kodansha, Ltd.).

As an antique, it may have some scratches or blemishes. We recommend that you visit our store to check the condition.
If you wish, we will send you detailed photos of the item, so please feel free to contact us.