{"product_id":"bucket-hat-kitsune-mask","title":"Bucket Hat 'Kitsune Mask' - キツネのお面","description":"\u003ch2\u003eA kitsune mask framed by peonies, embroidered on a bucket hat\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003ekitsune mask\u003c\/strong\u003e (狐面, \u003cem\u003ekitsune-men\u003c\/em\u003e) sits at the center of several Japanese festival and theatrical traditions. In Shinto belief the fox is the messenger of Inari Ōkami, the deity of rice, agriculture, commerce and prosperity. Inari shrines — above all Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, with its thousands of vermilion torii — keep paired stone foxes at the entrance to the sacred ground, guarding the threshold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe masks appear in a number of \u003cstrong\u003eritual contexts\u003c\/strong\u003e. On 31 December, at the Ōji Fox Parade in Tokyo (\u003cem\u003eŌji no Kitsune-bi\u003c\/em\u003e), hundreds of people walk masked or painted as foxes to mark the new year, in a custom traced to the Edo period. Noh and kyōgen theater both stage shape-shifting kitsune — including Kuzunoha, said in legend to be the mother of the onmyōji Abe no Seimei. Summer matsuri and Inari festivals bring the masks out in numbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe embroidery reproduces a heavily ornamented \u003cstrong\u003eclassic kitsune mask\u003c\/strong\u003e: a pared white face, sharp red and pink markings across the brow — the third eye that marks a supernatural fox — and pointed ears edged in red. Open pink peonies (\u003cem\u003ebotan\u003c\/em\u003e, a fixture of Japanese ornament) frame the composition, with small red ribbons hanging beside it. A gold \u003cem\u003esuzu\u003c\/em\u003e bell completes the arrangement, the instrument shaken at a Shinto shrine to draw the attention of the kami.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mid-profile bucket shape carries the mask without crowding it. Wear it with a contemporary haori, a graphic tee, cargo trousers and chunky sneakers for something loaded with folklore, or with a short modern kimono jacket over technical trousers for a sharper read. It suits summer festivals, anime and manga conventions, matsuri-themed nights, and anyone who found the fox through Japanese folklore or through the animation that borrows from it. A good gift for people who collect yōkai in any form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e98% cotton, 2% elastane\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMid profile, 7.5 cm (3 in) brim\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne size: 54.9-60 cm (21.6-23.6 in)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSoft inner lining\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFlat seams and clean finishing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Japan Clothing","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":53756538519899,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Grey","offer_id":53756538552667,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Khaki","offer_id":53756538585435,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"White","offer_id":53756538618203,"sku":null,"price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/9300\/2473\/files\/bucket-hat-kitsune-mask-black.jpg?v=1786453243","url":"https:\/\/japan-clothing.com\/products\/bucket-hat-kitsune-mask","provider":"JAPAN CLOTHING","version":"1.0","type":"link"}