An analysis of Isamu Noguchi’s
Momo Taro
By Anna Guterman, Kavi Subramanian,
Julia Dietz, and Sam Nordlinger
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Noguchi was born in 1904 in Los Angeles to an
American mother and a Japanese father, and
lived in Japan until the age of thirteen, when he
moved to Indiana.
His Japanese heritage is seen clearly in the title
and background story of his sculpture, Momo
Taro, which translates to “peach son” in
Japanese.
By Anna
Background
The title, Momo
Taro, evokes much thought
after investigation of its
meaning. “Momo”, which
means peach in Japanese,
clearly describes the halved
peach-shaped boulder.
After splitting the granite,
Noguchi was reminded of
the Japanese folk-tale of
Momo Taro, who was born
from a peach pit. The idea
of the sculpture was not
premeditated; only after he
began the process did the
meaning of the sculpture
appear from the rock.
By Anna

Noguchi was known for being an artist of stone
and a born architect, so it is not a coincidence
that he is also known for his geometric
sculptures. Additionally, he is an accomplished
furniture designer, and his pieces are still sold
today as art and as functional furniture.
By Sam
and Anna

By Sam
Momo Taro is a story
about a boy who goes
off with three friends
he finds and they go
on a large journey to
stop the monster from
being mean and
stealing from the
townspeople.

http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=uc7
aYvIsPWk (link to a
video telling the
story of Momo Taro)
Second Most
Interesting Detail


Momo Taro’s second most
interesting detail lies in its
patterned elements.
The color remains
repeated and neutral,
while various textures are
played with throughout
the sculpture.
By Anna

The diverse textures presented in Momo Taro
somewhat resemble the bite-marks in a peach,
but contrary to that statement, many of the
indents appear natural and not carved by
Noguchi. Whether they are purposeful or not,
these varying textures create an earthy and less
staged form of art, which is also seen in the
sculpture’s “random” placement of the
boulders.
By Anna
Isamu Noguchi’s Momotaro lays
atop a hill with ample space
between it and Storm King’s
numerous other sculptures,
beckoning one to climb the tall
hill ahead and investigate its
enigmatic, ruinous self.
At the sculpture, the viewer is
free to sit, unlike most other
sculptures at a the museum.
Beneath, the sprawled out
landscape hosts the other pieces
for your viewing pleasure.
By Kavi
Due to lack of seating,
the viewer is steered
against lingering
behind this piece for too
long.
By Kavi
Although there’s
plenty of to sit on
Momotaro, like this
group did for a
number of hours.
By Kavi
However, the main instinct is to
“meditate inside the sculpture
reverberating with
the Buddhist word Om” to the
onlooker. Or so says the sculptor in
reference to the
humongous human sized pit in the
sculpture.
Sitting in the pit impresses a
strong connection to the Japanese folk
tale (and the
sculpture’s namesake) Momotaro, a
story of a buy who emerged from a
gigantic peach.
Free as it may seem, this sculpture
affects the peruser very specifically.
However, by giving the freedom to
interpret it in whatever way one fancies,
Noguchi avoids boxing in the viewer.
By Kavi
The most revealing and fascinating facet of
Momo Taro is its spontaneous creation.“You can
find out how to do something and then do it, or
you can do something and find out what you did,”
Isamu Noguchi said. Noguchi also said that after
the initial splitting of the boulder, “there was
nothing to do but follow the instructive and not
premeditated promptings the composition came to
demand,”.
This mindset in his art is also seen in the choices
Noguchi made in his life, and speaks to his freeflowing spirit. He went pre-med at Columbia, but
made a sharp turn to becoming an artist.
By Julia and Anna
Unlike many famous works of art,
Isamu Noguchi’s Momo Taro was not
premeditated at all. The idea was
formed shortly after Noguchi split a
giant, granite boulder. He immediately
connected the shape of the boulder to
an ancient Japanese folk hero who was
born from a peach pit and proceeded
to work as the boulder “forced its
way” into the beautiful piece of art that
stands today.
By Julia