In the town I live in, Shigaraki, potters make figures called Tanuki, anthropomorphic clay figures of the Japanese Racoon Dog, a real animal.
They are a specialty of the town of Shigaraki! Potters have been making them since the early 20th century. And they are everywhere!A funny story I found involves a visit by the emperor. This excerpt is from the website: http://en.japantravel.com/shiga/shigaraki/10404
"Once when the emperor visited the town the local people were concerned that they were too few in number to provide a rousing welcome for their illustrious guest, so they got the idea of lining up hundreds of tanuki on the sides of the road. I bet that made the emperor smile!"
They are a symbol of luck and spritely mischief. In many Japanese folk tales they play tricks on people and they can even turn into humans to fool people! They are similar to the many tailed foxes, or kitsune found in Japanese Anime, such as Evee and Nine Tails in Pokemon!
Modern artists have also put their own spin on these figures. You can find many examples at the sculpture park where I am staying.
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| Tanuki by Jun Kaneko |
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