One Hundred Famous Views of Edo No.118Costumes, hackberry and New Year’s Eve’s will-o’-the wisps at Oji

In ancient China, the fox was believed to be a holy animal with miraculous powers. Those powers were utilized by the grain spirit when it intended to convey any divine message.
This belief in the fox’s power spread to Japan, an agricultural country, and the animal was often regarded as a guardian of crops. It was thus enshrined in Inari shrines throughout the country.
The Inari Shrine at Oji (see No. 18) was considered the most important in the Kanto Plain region and governed all other shrines in the area. It stood on a hillside that overlooked a dreary paddy field, in the middle of which grew a tall hackberry tree (a type of elm known in Japanese as enoki).
A legend had it that every year on New Year’s Eve, foxes from all over the Kanto Plain assembled under this tree. There they lit small “spirit” fires called will-o’-the-wisps. After assuming the shape of women and wearing court ladies’ costumes, they proceeded to the Inari Shrine to confine themselves for a conference. The shrine was crowded with people who came from all over to watch the fires under the tree.. Based on the number of fires, farmers forecast their harvest for the coming year. When there were more than the previous year, they expected a better harvest.
The above legend prevailed among Edo citizens. Motivated by this popular story, Hiroshige has drawn this imaginary scene. In the darkness, some foxes with fires are assembled under the tree. On the paddy field beyond are dimly observed foxes in court ladies’ costumes approaching the Inari Shrine.
In the distance, Oji village and the surrounding woods can be vaguely seen in the darkness. Stars glitter in the cold, clear sky, vying with the fires on the earth.