Which Deity Doll Is Made Of Exceptionally Soft Animal Hide?

Kintarō ( 金太郎 , often translated as "Golden Boy") is a folk hero from Japanese folklore.^[one] A child of superhuman strength, he was raised past a yama-uba ("mountain witch") on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later on, later catching Shuten-dōji, the terror of the region around Mount Ōe, he became a loyal follower of Minamoto no Yorimitsu under the new name Sakata no Kintoki ( 坂田金時 ). He is a popular figure in Bunraku and kabuki drama, and it is a custom to put up a Kintarō doll on Male child's Twenty-four hour period in the hope that boys volition become equally brave and strong.

Kintarō is supposedly based on a real person, Sakata Kintoki, who lived during the Heian period and probably came from what is at present the city of Minamiashigara, Kanagawa. He served as a retainer for the samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu and became well known for his abilities as a warrior. As with many larger-than-life individuals, his legend has grown with time.

Fable [edit]

Several competing stories tell of Kintarō'south childhood. In one, he was raised by his mother, Princess Yaegiri, girl of a wealthy man named Shiman-chōja, in the village of Jizodo, nearly Mount Ashigara. In a competing legend, his mother gave birth to him in what is now Sakata, Yamagata. She was forced to flee, however, due to fighting between her husband, a samurai named Sakata, and his uncle. She finally settled in the forests of Mount Ashigara to enhance her son. Alternatively, Kintarō's real mother left the child in the wilds or died and left him an orphan, and he was raised by a yama-uba or "mountain witch" (one tale says Kintarō'southward mother raised him in the wilds, but due to her haggard appearance, she came to be chosen yama-uba). In the most fanciful version of the tale, the yama-uba was Kintarō's mother, impregnated by a clap of thunder sent from a red dragon of Mount Ashigara.

The legends agree that even as a toddler, Kintarō was active and tireless, plump and ruddy, wearing merely a bib with the kanji for "gold" (金) on information technology. His only other belonging was a hatchet (ono or masakari). He was bossy to other children (or there simply were no other children in the forest), and then his friends were mainly the animals of Mt. Kintoki and Mt. Ashigara. He was as well phenomenally strong, able to smash rocks into pieces, uproot trees, and bend trunks like twigs. His animal friends served him every bit messengers and mounts, and some legends say that he even learned to speak their language. Several tales tell of Kintarō's adventures, fighting monsters and oni (demons), beating bears in sumo wrestling, and helping the local woodcutters fell trees.

Every bit an adult, Kintarō changed his name to Sakata no Kintoki. He met the samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu equally he passed through the area around Mt. Kintoki. Yorimitsu was impressed by Kintarō's enormous strength, so he took him as one of his personal retainers to live with him in Kyoto.^[2] Kintoki studied martial arts in that location and eventually became the chief of Yorimitsu'southward Shitennō ("four braves"), renowned for his strength and martial prowess. He eventually went dorsum for his female parent and brought her to Kyoto as well.

In modern Japan [edit]

Kintarō is an extremely popular effigy in Japan, and his image adorns everything from statues to storybooks, anime, manga to activity figures. For example, the manga and anime Gilded Male child stars a character with the aforementioned name. Kintarō as an prototype is characterized with an ono, a haragake apron, and sometimes a tame bear. In many of Kintarō's pictures, information technology seems that he is trying to capture a giant black koi. This seems to glorify his force as he is able to wrestle with such a beast.

Kintarō candy has been around since the Edo catamenia; no matter how the cylinder-shaped candy is cut, Kintarō's face appears inside. Japanese tradition is to decorate the room of a newborn baby boy with Kintarō dolls on Children'south Day (May v) so that the child will grow up to be strong like the Golden Boy. A shrine defended to the folk hero lies at the foot of Mount Ashigara in the Hakone area near Tokyo. Nearby is a giant bedrock that was supposedly chopped in half by the boy hero himself.

Kintarō holding a carp and an axe (Masakari).

The proper name and sure traits of the main character of Gin Tama, Gintoki Sakata, are loosely based on Kintarō. The relation has also been confirmed in Gin Tama'due south episode 98 and manga volume 10. Gintoki has its name contain the character for "silver" instead of "gold", and he has silver pilus. One of his nemeses, the gilded-haired Sakata Kintoki, also made an appearance.

In the anime series Otogi Zoshi, Kintaro is one of the principal characters.
The Imagin Kintaros from the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Den-O is based on Kintarō, emulating the bear and axe elements.
In the video game Otogi ii: Immortal Warriors developed by From Software, Kintoki wields a large axe as his principal weapon, known as the 'Cherry Axe'.
Kintarō appears as an conflicting graphic symbol who rides a flying bear and wields a small (merely large for his size) axe in the animated television series Urusei Yatsura.^[3]
In the anime and manga series The Prince of Tennis, a character by the name of Tōyama Kintarō is the youngest regular member of the Shitenhoji Heart School tennis team. He is named after Kintarō, and shares his namesake'due south astonishing superhuman forcefulness.
In the series I Slice, the character called Sentoumaru has a design based on Kintaro (he wears the same clothes and wields a behemothic battle axe). Even his signature attacks is chosen Ashigara Dokkoi.
In the Power Instinct video game serial, Kintaro appears as a playable character as Kintaro Kokuin. He uses his beast friends, such as a bear and a koi fish, besides as his axe, to assail the opponent, and is capable of transforming into a canis familiaris-like superhero named "Poochy".
In the video game Persona 4, Kintaro becomes a playable persona, under the name Kintoki-Douji. In a visual pun, instead of carrying an axe, information technology carries a Tomahawk missile.
In the anime Kai Doh Maru, Kintoki is a daughter who passes as a boy and is rescued by Raiko no Minamoto from her evil uncle Shuten Doji. He trains her to be a fighter ( specializing in thrown axe and battle axe ) but their love ends in death.
In the video game Animate being Crossing: New Foliage, the wear store "Able Sisters" will sometimes display a wig in the accessories section of the store that the actor tin buy, and is styled similarly to Kintarō'south own hairstyle.
In the second flavour of the anime Garo: The Animation, Kintoki is an ageless boy of the Heian Period who serves under Raikō as his retainer, in their fight against horrors.
In the anime and manga series Gintama, the protagonist Sakata Gintoki is partially inspired by Kintarō, as stated past the writer Hideaki Sorachi.
In the mobile game Fate/One thousand Lodge, Sakata Kintoki is a Berserker-class Retainer. He debuts every bit an marry in the London chapter. He is shown to have fascination towards golden things, and even has the tendency of proverb the English language word "Gold" and "Golden". His overall pattern is modernized; akin to a Yakuza mob boss and he wields an elemental (lightning) axe. He as well appears alternatively as a Passenger-course Retainer, where his appearance is akin to bōsōzoku gang member and rides his bike "Unit Gilded Bear". In this course, he fights with spiky fisticuffs; fused with his lightning power.
In the video game Nioh, Kintoki appears in the last sub-mission of the Kinki Region, Greater Demon Hunting, to assist the histrion grapheme, William, in defeating a powerful demon.
In the video game Yokai Watch Blasters, Kintaro is another Jibanyan clone by the proper name of Kintaronyan. Kintaronyan is sometimes befriended with the item "Kintaronyan Candy" on the stage,"Momotaro Hunter 2".
In the TMNT 2012 cartoon, Kintaro is an anthropormophic pug who accompanies Usagi Miyamoto. When the Ninja Turtles are transported to their dimension they aid Usagi protect him from the demon Jei. He's depicted every bit a rude and spoil brat but later warms up to Usagi and the turtles.
In episode 23 of the anime To Love Ru, Yuuki Mikan, sister of the protagonist Yuuki Rito, appears as Kintaro.
In the 2001 animated hitting classic Spirited Away, the chief antagonist Yubaba, which means bathhouse witch, has a son that is based on kintarō. He is a gigantic babe named Boh and his only article of habiliment is a huge red bib that is kanji for 'Bō', or boy.
In the manga Record of Ragnarok, Kintaro, by his later name of Sakata Kintoki, appears as a human fighter battling gods of several pantheons in a tournament to decide the fate of the man species.
In the video game Spirit Hunter: NG, Kubitarou of Kintoki is loosely based on Kintarō.

See as well [edit]

Japanese dolls
Momotarō

References [edit]

^ Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. pp. 61–64. ISBN9781590207307.
^ Piggott, J. (1997). Japanese Mythology. London: Chancellor Printing.
^ Urusei yatsura - Kintaro of the Autumn Heaven/Live Vigorously! at IMDb