Raccoon Dogs

(Tanuki, 狸)

Publishers: Kazusa-ya Iwazô and Echizen-ya Heisaburô

c. 1842

This series of comic prints alludes to the supposed ability of raccoon dogs to voluntarily enlarge their scrotums. It is listed as 209 in Kuniyoshi by Basil William Robinson (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1961). Robinson translated tanuki as “badgers”, but “raccoon dogs” seems to be more correct. The images are each about 7 by 10 inches (18 by 25 centimeters), a size known as chûban. Two images were printed on a sheet of paper about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters), a size known as ôban.

	Title: Tanuki no amiuchi Description: A raccoon dog using his scrotum as a throw-net to catch birds Title: Tanuki no ôrai Description: Raccoon dogs coming and going on the street Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal name Kamiiwa, 上岩)
	Title: Tanuki no kawagari Description: Raccoon dogs fishing in a river Publisher’s seal: Echizen-ya Heisaburô (seal 緑 越前屋) Title: Tanuki no yûdachi Description: Raccoon dogs sheltering from evening shower Publisher’s seal: Echizen-ya Heisaburô (seal 緑 越前屋)
	I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this alternate state with the seal of the publisher Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩上総屋)
	Title: Tanuki no senkimochi (せんきもち) Description: Raccoon dog suffering from senki, a disease that causes the scrotum to swell Title: Tanuki no shichifukujin (狸の七福神) Description: Raccoon dogs as five of the seven gods of good luck Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (岩 かづさや)
	Title: Tanuki no uranai (狸のうらない) Description: A raccoon dog as a fortuneteller Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋) Title: Tanuki no Kanban (狸のかんばん) Description: Raccoon dogs using their scrotums as shop signs
	Title: Kindama chikaramochi Description: Weightlifting Title: Namazu hyôtan kintama Description: Catching a catfish with a gourd NOTE: In Zen Buddhism, a kôan is a difficult question to ponder as an aid to meditation. Well known kôan include: What is the sound of one hand clapping?; When a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?; and How do you catch a catfish with a gourd? Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋)
	Title: Tanuki no sumô (狸のすもふ) Description: Raccoon dogs as sumô wrestlers wearing their scrotums as sumô aprons Title: Tanuki no mochi (狸の夜見世) Description: A night market Publisher’s seal: Echizen-ya Heisaburô (seal 越前屋)
	Title: Samugari tanuki (さむがり狸) Description: Raccoon dogs sheltering from the cold Title: Hatsuuma no tanuki Description: Raccoon dogs as retailers celebrating the first sale of the new year by beating on a large drum Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋)
	Title: Tanuki no kokintama Description: A freak-show barker outside a shack where a raccoon dog with a small scrotum is on exhibition. The customers are elegantly draped with their own ample scrotums. Title: Tanuki no dôke Daruma Description: A raccoon dog having his scrotum painted in imitation of a Daruma doll Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋)
	Title: Tengu no mane Description: A raccoon dog imitating a tengu using his scrotum as the tengu’s large nose Title: Jibiki danuki Description: Raccoon dogs using their scrotums as a fishing net Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋)
	I am grateful to Robert Pryor for this alternate of the above design.
	Title: Tanuki no urisue Description: A raccoon dog using his scrotum as a sales gimmick Title: Tanuki no hikifune Description: A raccoon dog using his scrotum as a boat Publisher’s seal: Kazusa-ya Iwazô (seal 岩 上総屋)
	The raccoon dog is also known as Nyctereutes procyonoides, magnut and tanuki (タヌキ, 狸, 貍, or たぬき). It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes.

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