Yamauba Holding Chestnuts while Kintarô Reaches for Them
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
This print from around 1799 depicts the folkloric mountain woman Yamauba holding chestnuts while the wild child Kintaro reaches eagerly toward them — a scene of playful maternal interaction. Utamaro's Yamauba-and-Kintaro series is among his most unusual achievements, finding psychological depth and tenderness in a pairing drawn from folk legend. The chestnuts (kuri) were an autumn food associated with mountain foraging, grounding the mythological figures in seasonal nature.
More Prints by Kitagawa Utamaro
Akashi of the Tamaya, from the series Seven Komachis of Yoshiwara (Seiro nana Komachi) (Tamaya uchi Akashi, Uraji, Shimano)
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Hour of the Tiger (Tora no koku = 4 AM) from the series Twelve Hours in Yoshiwara (Seirô jûni toki tsuzuki), Late Edo period, circa 1794
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Ikebana arrangement of Peony and Willow in Dragon Pot
1781–1806
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The Greatest Beauties of Our Time (Toji zensei bijin zoroe): Somenosuke of the Matsubaya with Attendants Wakagi and Wakaba
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Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yamauba Holding Chestnuts while Kintarô Reaches for Them was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
Yamauba Holding Chestnuts while Kintarô Reaches for Them depicts figures, mythology, and children.