Kintaro and giant carp by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

"Sakata Kaidomaru" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi




This work is a picture depicting Kintaro, who is familiar with fairy tales in Japan. But during the Edo period, he was more often referred to as Sakata Kaidomaru. Kintaro is planting his feet firmly and holding a huge cape. And the water of the fall is falling over him. Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) expressed this work with a contemporary sense as if shooting a moment with a fast shutter. The contrast between the vermilion of Kintaro and the amber of carp and waterfall is really beautiful. Kuniyoshi loved things of braveness and children. Kintaro has both of them. Though Torii Kiyonaga (1752-1815) drew more than forty works of Kintaro, Kuniyoshi not just imitated the predecessors’ pictures and added his interpretation to the work.

Title: “Sakata Kaidomaru”

Author: Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Year: about 1836

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