Utagawa Yoshikazu, "Minamoto no Yorimitsu Meets Kintaro"

Kintaro, the “Golden Boy,” is one of Japan’s best-known folk heroes. According to legend, he was raised in the mountains by a yamauba, a supernatural mountain woman, and possessed extraordinary strength. In this scene, Kintaro lifts a massive log overhead while a bear he had been wrestling tumbles from a cliff. On the right, Minamoto no Yorimitsu observes Kintaro from horseback and recruits him as a retainer. Kintaro later becomes one of Yorimitsu’s most formidable warriors, known as Sakata Kintoki. The entire scene frames a wonderfully quaint view of Mount Fuji. 

Date: 1857
Size: Oban Triptych
Condition: Some restoration to sheets, otherwise very good color and condition

Utagawa Yoshikazu (active c. 1850–1870s) was a pupil of Utagawa Kuniyoshi whose work reflects the transition from the Edo period to the Meiji era. His prints combined a fascination with Japan’s classical history and legendary subjects with depictions of the rapid modernization and cultural changes taking place during the Meiji period.