# Yamauba and Kintarō Playing with a Cherry

**Kitagawa Utamaro** (Japanese, c.1753–1806)  
ca. 1795  
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper  
H. 15 1/16 in. (38.3 cm); W. 9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, JP1438. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45099).

## About this work

Yamauba, the wild woman of the mountains, plays with her son Kintarō, the boy of superhuman strength who grows up to be a famous warrior, the two of them sharing a cherry. Utamaro designed many prints of the pair in the 1790s and early 1800s, turning the folk legend into tender, slightly unsettling images of mother and child, with Yamauba’s long, unkempt black hair framing her pale face and Kintarō’s ruddy body set against it. The mixture of intimacy and wildness made them highly popular.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Kitagawa Utamaro designed this in about 1795, aged about 32. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Colour woodblock print.** In Japan these were a team effort. The artist drew the design, a carver cut it into cherry-wood blocks, one block for each colour, and a printer brushed on the pigment and rubbed each sheet by hand. Full-colour prints of this kind were called nishiki-e, “brocade pictures”, from the 1760s on.

### [Kitagawa Utamaro](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/kitagawa-utamaro)

Japanese, c.1753–1806

Utamaro trained with the painter Toriyama Sekien and rose to fame in the 1790s with the support of the publisher Tsutaya Jūzaburō. He is best known for his half-length portraits of women, the ōkubi-e or “large head” pictures, which give close attention to expression, gesture and the texture of hair and fabric. He also produced finely observed books of insects, shells and birds. In 1804 he was punished by the authorities for designs depicting the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Prints
- Culture: Japan
- The artist was about 32
- Real size: about 15 × 10 in (38 × 25 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Movement: [Ukiyo-e](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/ukiyo-e)
- Subjects: Children, Women
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/917.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/917/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/yamauba-and-kintaro-playing-with-a-cherry-met-45099).