Sakata Kintoki Wrestling with a Tengu
- Date:
- 1715-18
- Medium:
- Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, tan-e
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
Dated to 1715-1718, this o-oban tan-e depicts the legendary strongman Sakata Kintoki (also known as Kintaro, the Golden Boy) wrestling a tengu, the mountain spirit of Japanese folklore. Kintoki was a beloved figure of popular legend, raised in the wilds of the Ashigara mountains by his mother Yamauba and famed in childhood for his preternatural strength, with which he supposedly subdued bears and demons. The wrestling-the-tengu subject brought Kintoki's youthful prowess into vivid visual form and made an ideal showcase for Kiyomasu I's muscular drawing style. The print uses the Torii workshop's characteristic bold outlines and gourd-shaped limbs (hyotan-ashi) to emphasize Kintoki's physical force, hand-colored throughout with tan pigment to enhance the visual impact.
More Prints by Torii Kiyomasu I
The Actors Arashi Koroku I as Makomo no Mae and Ichikawa Uzaemon VIII as Taira no Koremochi in the play "Shusse Momijigari," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the eleventh month, 1747
1747
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
The Actors Sanogawa Ichimatsu I as Soga no Goro and Ikushima Daikichi II as Kewaizaka no Shosho in the play "Monzukushi Nagoya Soga," performed at the Ichimura Theater in the first month, 1748
1748
Color woodblock print; hosoban, benizuri-e
Ichimura Manzo as Yatsushi Goro and Segawa Kikujiro as Yatsushi Shosho
ca. 1745
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Courtesan
ca. 1712
Monochrome woodblock (tan-e) print; ink on paper
Frequently Asked Questions
Sakata Kintoki Wrestling with a Tengu was created by Torii Kiyomasu I (鳥居清倍) in 1715-18.