Description:
ōban tate-e; nishiki-e
Label Text:
The red figure, with his rippling muscular physique, is Sakata Kaidōmaru, also known as Kintarō, a wild child and Herculean figure in Japanese mythology, who was brought up in the forest under the adoption of Yama Uba. Kintarō performed prodigious feats of strength, such as wrestling and subduing a giant carp. His usual companions are the deer, the hare, and the mischievous “red back,” the monkey. His weapon is an enormous ax, which he wields here as he places his foot on the head of a prostrate bear cub. Kuniyoshi excelled at producing dynamic images, with bold colors, extensive shading, and a highly stylized rendering of the human form, especially that of warriors and sumo wrestlers, to create a heightened sense of volume, depth, and motion.
- BB, ed., 2015
The British Museum also holds an impression of this design (acc. no. 2008,3037.14203), though they have misidentified the publisher, a common error in the case of Sakanaya Eikichi. This series pairs historic people with lucky or unlucky days in astrology. The designs were executed early in Kuniyoshi's career but were not published until 1860. - BB, 2014
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2005.54 |
