Kintaro (the golden boy) is another powerful piece that I have always loved since the first time I saw it. There are many stories relating to Kintaro. Some say he was left in the forest area of Mount Ashigara by his mother, to be taken in and raised by the mountain witch Yama-uba, others claim the mountain witch was his mother, impregnated by thunder sent from a dragon. But all tales, no matter how they start, all agree that Kintaro was a boy of immense strength and courage. He wore only a bib with the kanji for gold printed on it and usually carried with him an Ono (hatchet). His friends were mainly the animals of Mt. Kintoki and Mt. Ashigara. He was capable of smashing rocks into pieces and uproot trees. Some say, he was able to speak with the animals befriended. Many tales tell of Kintaro fighting monsters and demons. Also there has been depictions of him from some of the great ukiyo-e masters fighting boars, bears or giant koi as depicted in my drawing below. Some believe the stories of Kintaro are based in truth. That he was a real person who later in adult life, changed his name to Sakata Kintoki. He would have lived during the Heian period and had served as a retainer for the samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu.