Object details
Object number
ARC.006550
Creator(s)
Okakura Kakuzo
(Yokohama, 1862 - 1913, Akakura)
Title
The White Fox: A Fairy Drama in Three Acts, Written for Music
Date
1913
Medium
Typewritten ink on paper
Language
English
Dimensions
28.1 x 22.2 cm (11 1/16 x 8 3/4 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed, signed and dated in ink (page 2): To the Presence / Fenway Court / with out whose suggestion this foolish attempt would / never have been made / I dedicate the humble result / Okakura - Kakuzo / March 2nd 1913
Provenance
Gift from Okakura Kakuzo to Isabella Stewart Gardner 2 March 1913.
Commentary
Art historian and philosopher Okakura Kakuzō adapted the Japanese legend of Kuzunoha into a libretto for an opera. In the story, a young nobleman saves a white fox from a hunter. The fox visits the man in the form of a woman. The two marry and have a child, but ultimately the woman decides to return to the forest and her fox life. Okakura dedicated his manuscript to Isabella which she displayed in the Okakura Case in the Blue Room.
Bibliography
Adam Haliburton, "The Elusive White Fox by Okakura Kakuzō," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 19 December 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/elusive-white-fox-okakura-kakuzo
Gallery
Blue Room
Case
Okakura Case
Rights and reproductions
The use of images, text, and all other media found on this website is limited. Please review Rights and Reproductions for details.
