Sunday, June 30, 2019

Back in action...just in time.

We escaped Germany just before the big heat wave swept through Europe.  Record heat has been logged all over Germany...in some areas hotter than Death Valley...and with little to no AC in a lot of places around Europe, it would have been miserable.  No complaints on our 70 degree SoCal weather right now, though.

At some point while I was in Germany, I picked up this two-card sumo menko lot from 1938.  It depicts hand-drawn images of the great Haguroyama as a Komusubi (#15184) and the rank-and-filer Tatekabuto who couldn't make it out of the Maegashira ranks (#85021).  What is interesting to note is the changes that Haguroyama saw during his 20-year career.  He went from competing in two annual 11-day tournaments in the early 1930s to four annual 15-day tournaments in the early 1950s.  He managed to stay alive during World War II, pushed sumo through the Occupation of the 1940s and 1950s, and helped bring sumo into the "modern" age in 1952 with the first televised bouts and into a new, modern stadium.  On top of it all, he collected 7 top-division wins during his career and was the powerhouse Yokozuna during this time.  The next changing of the guards happened in the early 1950s and by this time Haguroyama was pretty worn out ready for the next generation to take over.  He died in October 1969 at the age of 54...having just seen man land on the moon a few months earlier.

I hope everyone stays nice and cool as we enter the heat of the summer...unless you are living in the Southern Hemisphere...in that case, stay warm!



8 comments:

  1. Neat cards. Glad you made it back to the US safely!

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    1. Thanks! Nice to be back, but will miss European culture for sure.

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  2. Great to see you posting again and safely in California away from all that heat in Germany (there is a phrase you don't hear often).

    Very interesting about Haguroyama, love those cards!

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    1. The weather is really nice here so far..and not hot!

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  3. Glad to see you've made it to Cali safe and sound... and you're back at the keyboard! Death Valley temperatures with no AC? That sounds miserable. One of the best investments I ever made was purchasing a new air conditioning unit two years ago. Anyways... glad to hear it's cool down south. It's been okay up here too. In fact, it still gets into the 50's at night... which is awesome!

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    1. It tool quite getting used to no AC. Don't really need it down here....hopefully you guys have a mild summer up there. I'll let you know when I am up that way. Cheers!

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  4. Welcome back! Highly unusual weather in Europe.

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    1. For sure. Glad to be back and understand the language again.

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