Art Institute of Chicago

Sakata Kintoki Wrestling with a Tengu

Torii Kiyomasu I (Japanese, active c. 1704–18)

Date: 1715-18
Medium: Hand-colored woodblock print; o-oban, tan-e
Culture: Japan
Department: Arts of Asia
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago

The man depicted here is Kintoki, a hero from Japanese folklore famous for engaging supernatural beings in battle. His birth name was Kintarō, and he had legendary strength even while still a boy. Here he is shown wrestling with a tengu, a type of mythical birdman said to live on Mount Kurama, north of Kyoto. The hand coloring is primarily red (tan), derived from red lead, and green (roku), made from malachite, a scheme that was popular before multicolored printing was introduced. Despite the limited palette, the pigment was skillfully applied in a variety of saturations so that the thicker red could represent the tengu’s supernatural skin while the thinner red conveys Kintoki’s flushed face.

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Object type: AAT300041273

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