The untamed mountains of Japan served as Kintaro's childhood home, and as a marker of his wild upbringing he is often depicted with darker skin than his mother. Freedom from the traditional constraints of society surely served the boy well; he came to be known for his great strength and eventually served as one of the four retainers of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, a warrior celebrated for overthrowing myriad demons and bandits during the tenth century.