Tanuki 狸

Tanuki 狸

Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2020

Drawing
29 x 42 x 0 cm
Ink on Paper

€ 590

incl. shipping within the EU

About Tanuki 狸

Tanuki (狸), sometimes called Yabyō (“wildcat”), is a shape-shifting trickster from Japanese folklore, classified among the Yōkai. Known for mischievous pranks and comically oversized scrotums in popular imagery, Tanuki are also said to transform into magical tea kettles.

According to legend, once Tanuki reach an unusually advanced age—beyond 20 years—they gain the ability to stand upright, speak, and summon tanuki-bi (ghostly lights). They often don elegant kimonos or disguise themselves as humble monks, using shape-shifting and voice mimicry to fool unsuspecting humans. While Tanuki generally distrust people and keep their distance, they also take delight in tricking them. Friendlier Tanuki appear mainly in modern stories and media.

Sold and shipped by Vinz Schwarzbauer.

About Vinz Schwarzbauer

Vinz Schwarzbauer (*1987 in Graz, Austria) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2014. In 2011/12, he spent a year in Hamburg on the Art School Alliance Scholarship at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK). He was a co-founder of the magazine for narrative drawing "Franz the Lonely Austrionaut" and has illustrated for renowned media and theaters such as Falter, Jacobin Magazine, Der Standard, Burgtheater Wien, and Residenztheater München. His comic debut Mäander was published by Edition Moderne in 2023. Vinz Schwarzbauer lives and works as a comic artist and illustrator in Vienna, Austria.


More artworks by Vinz Schwarzbauer from this series

Kitsune 狐
Kitsune 狐
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2020
€ 590
Ningyo 人魚
Ningyo 人魚
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2019
€ 590
Happyaku Bikuni 八百比丘尼
Happyaku Bikuni 八百比丘尼
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2019
€ 590
Shirime  尻目
Shirime 尻目
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2020
€ 590
Oni 鬼
Oni 鬼
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2018
€ 332
Namazu-e  鯰絵
Namazu-e 鯰絵
Vinz Schwarzbauer, 2019
€ 590

Other artist's artworks

Untitled
Untitled
Pawel Mendrek, 2023
€ 990
Stranded Objects 5
Stranded Objects 5
Catherine Ludwig, 2017
€ 490
Galanthus
Galanthus
Isabel Mischka, 2022
€ 520
Sleeping Dogs oversized
Sleeping Dogs oversized
Arlette Ess
€ 265
Dirty Joe Curly
Dirty Joe Curly
Ptit Marc, 2020
€ 407
Global 28
Global 28
Anne Suttner, 2013
€ 250
Banana lover
Banana lover
Ptit Marc, 2022
€ 940
About The Weather 4
About The Weather 4
Hoa Luo, 2023
€ 240
Selfie 7
Selfie 7
Natalia Weiss, 2019
€ 463
Geometric Redux Study after Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Geometric Redux Study after Van Gogh’s Starry Night
Andre Brik, 2020
€ 310
Global 30
Global 30
Anne Suttner, 2014
€ 250
A O I / futur
A O I / futur
Patrik Muchenberger, 2025
€ 240