Skip Navigation

Sakata Kaidōmaru

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Asian Art

Known by many names (including Kintaro, or Golden Boy), Sakata Kaidomaru was an eleventh-century warrior of legendary strength who is said to have displayed great prowess as a fighter even in his early childhood. This celebrated image shows the well-muscled boy wrestling a giant carp under a waterfall. Kuniyoshi adds considerable depth and energy to the scene through his innovative depictions of a transparent stream of water and scattering white spray.
MEDIUM Color woodblock print on paper
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES 1835
    PERIOD Edo Period
    DIMENSIONS 15 x 10 5/16 in. (38.1 x 26.2 cm)  (show scale)
    SIGNATURE Ichiyūsai Kuniyoshi ga (一勇斎国芳画)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 1999.139.1
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Dr. Eleanor Z. Wallace in memory of her husband, Dr. Stanley L. Wallace
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This print depicts the famous legend of a young demon, Oniwakamaru (aka Sakata Kaidomaru, aka Kintaro, aka Golden Boy), fighting with a Giant Carp, which swallowed his mother. Oniwakamaru's mother gave birth to him after a mysterious dream that she would miraculously conceive a child in her old age. The title of the print is located on the upper left, and the artist's signature appears under the title, and the legend about Oniwakamaru is written in an extended text on the lower left. The artist, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), is one of the Utagawa school's ukiyo-e artists, who portrayed old stories and legends as most of his themes. Ōban.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1798–1861). Sakata Kaidōmaru, 1835. Color woodblock print on paper, 15 x 10 5/16 in. (38.1 x 26.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. Eleanor Z. Wallace in memory of her husband, Dr. Stanley L. Wallace, 1999.139.1 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1999.139.1_IMLS_PS3.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 1999.139.1_IMLS_PS3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.