Kintaro (a.k.a. “Golden Boy”), a popular child folk hero embodying strength and bravery, appears in statues, storybooks, anime, manga, noh, kabuki and candy. He was also the subject of numerous Edo-period woodblock prints.
Various legends say that Kintaro was raised by a Yamamba ogress in the mountains, where he learned to communicate with animals. In this Kuniyoshi print, Kintaro wears a dragon haramaki and referees a sumo match between a rabbit and a monkey, while an eerie blue demon and tengu look on.
Kintaro Referees Sumo Bout Between Rabbit & Monkey (Kuniyoshi, ca. 1830)
As a youngster, Kintaro developed superhuman strength that enabled him to crush boulders, fight monsters and demons, uproot trees, and defeat bears at sumo. In this Yoshitsuya print, Kintaro demonstrates his unparalleled fighting skills by overpowering a giant python. His trademark axe is pictured at the bottom.
Model Warrior of Japan: Kintaro (Yoshitsuya, 1856)
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Original post by Edo