This 1794 print from Utamaro's Yamauba-and-Kintaro series depicts the mountain crone holding the wild boy Kintaro as he plays with a toy mask. The toy mask — a miniature theatrical face — introduces an element of cultural play into the folkloric scene: the child of the wild, raised apart from civilization, here delights in the cultural artifact of the mask. Utamaro's Yamauba compositions consistently find warmth and specificity in the relationship between the mythological mother and child.
![A Low Class Prostitute (Gun [teppo]), from the series “Five Shades of Ink in the Northern Quarter" ("Hokkoku goshiki-zumi") by Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/ed82be98-8a83-4163-ccc4-e2f7210cce55/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
c. 1794/95
Color woodblock print; oban
c. 1793
color woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Yamauba with Kintarô Holding a Toy Mask was created by Kitagawa Utamaro (喜多川歌麿).
Yamauba with Kintarô Holding a Toy Mask depicts figures, mythology, and children.
