Kintaro is a Japanese folk hero, the son of a high-ranking officer who was lost in the mountains. He was raised by an athletic yama-uba (“mountain witch”) and grew so strong that he wrestled with bears. This netsuke shows him riding such a bear, holding his characteristic attribute, a large hatchet, in one hand. Kintaro, often translated as “Golden Boy”, is half-naked and rather small. The bear with a charmingly ferocious expression shows an incised fur pattern, inlaid eyes and the himotoshi are in his side.

Category:

Netsuke

Subcategory:

-

Subject:

Mythological

Material:

Ivory

Age/Country:

19th Century

Artist:

-

Provenance/Owner:

-

Signed:

unsigned

Type:

Katabori

Height:

39mm mm

Width:

mm

Depth:

mm

ID number: