The invention addresses the problem of providing an electrically powered artificial hand that can be constructed with a simple configuration, the operation of which is easy to master and the control of which is highly reproducible. The electrically powered artificial hand (1) is provided with: a shape-detecting sensor (2) for detecting the shape of the forearm of an upper limb amputee a hand section (6) having a pair of arms (7a, 7b) that are capable of opening and closing movements and a main control unit body (8) having a sensor signal-receiving circuit for receiving the sensor signal output from the shape-detecting sensor (2) according to the shape of the forearm, and a control signal-generating and -sending circuit for generating a control signal on the basis of the sensor signal and sending the control signal to the hand section (6) to control the opening and closing movements of the arms (7a, 7b). The control signal comprises a control direction for controlling the direction of the movement of arms (7a, 7b), the direction being determined on the basis of the direction of the change in shape from a previously prescribed initial shape of the forearm, and a control magnitude for controlling the distance of movement of the arms (7a, 7b), the magnitude being determined on the basis of the magnitude of the change in shape from the initial shape.
