One aspects of the control of multifingered hands is discussed, nearly inverse kinematics. For a serial-link manipulator with a multifingered hand attached to its distal link, the inverse kinematics of the hand and of the manipulator can be treated separately. The inverse kinematic solution for a three-fingered, nine-degree-of-freedom hand is described. The solution presented for the general configuration of the hand is unique and unambiguous; however, this is not the case for certain joint configurations, which are identified.>