Sakata Kinpira Nyudo
early 18th century
Medium
Monochrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
9 7/8 x 14 3/4 in. (25.1 x 37.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Accession Number
JP816
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Okumura Masobu's *Sakata Kinpira Ny* captures the heroic swagger of a legendary figure from folklore. Created in the early 18th, this woodblock print Sakata Kinpira, a fierce disciple of the superhuman warrior Sakataintoki, often portrayed in kabuki theater as a sword-wielding strongman. Masanobu, a pioneering ukiyo-e artist, masterfully renders the muscular nyudo (lay monk) in dynamic pose, sword at the ready, embodying the era's fascination with larger-than-life heroes and theatrical bravado. This monochrome print, executed in ink and su...
About the Artist
Okumura Masanobu · 1686–1764
Japanese, 1686–1764