Inui Tai | Woodblock Print

Long before fables were bound in children’s books, Japan’s oldest chronicle, the Kojiki (compiled in the 8th century), recorded a curious tale of a rabbit, a shark, a god of kindness, and a healing substance. 
A white hare wanted to cross from the Oki Islands to Inaba. Clever but boastful, it tricked a line of sharks into forming a bridge by pretending to count them to see who had the larger clan. But the last shark, realizing the trick, tore off its fur in revenge. 
Naked and suffering, the hare begged for help. A group of spirits (Kami, in Shinto belief) passed by and, out of malice, told the hare to bathe in salt water and dry in the wind – only worsening its pain. Then the youngest, Okuninushi, offered simple kindness: wash in fresh water, roll in cattail pollen. The hare healed, and in gratitude foretold that he – not his brothers – would win Princess Yagami’s hand. And so it was.
A little story, a big lesson: wit may carry you far, cruelty ruins everything, and one act of compassion can change destiny. Cattail pollen is cherished in Chinese and Japanese traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. 
The woodblock print is dated in the inscription: 1999 - a rabbit-year.
 
Inui Tai (1929-2023)
Woodblock print on paper
27.5 x 24.5 cm (10¾ x 9½ in.)
Papersize 32 x 31.1 cm (12½ x 12¼ in.)