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Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Raw & Uncut: 1946 Kagome Rikishi Down 3-4 (R462) Sumo Wrestling Menko Sheet
1946 was a really slim year for sumo. Only one tournament was held and most of the rikishi were struggling to transition to the post-war occupation and an environment that wasn't friendly to traditional Japanese sports. While baseball thrived in Occupied Japan, sumo wrestling floundered and thus, very few sumo menko sets exist from the late 1940s to early 1950s. This 1946 menko set printed by Kagome was one of those few. Surprisingly, the only menko I have seen from this set have been in uncut sheets and I recently discovered a full 3-sheet, 21-menko set from this hard to find "rare" release. And as an extra bonus, I discovered this set comes in at least two types of backs, light blue and dark blue ink. As you can see the fronts have bold colors and good quality drawings that somewhat resemble the likeness of the rikishi. Likely this set was printed in early 1947 as it is missing Yokozuna who retired in the 1946 tournament, but the ranks are based on the Aki 1946 Banzuke.
Have an amazing Sunday!
Have an amazing Sunday!
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Seems to be a lot of Menko sheets on the blogs as of late! Not that I'm complaining, I'm just sayin' that's all :)
ReplyDeleteI had a run of sheets that I picked up. Am getting around to cataloguing them. A few more of them to go.
DeleteDid you add these sheets to your collection? If so... congratulations! They're gorgeous. I'm sure you've mentioned this before (but I've got the memory of Dory)... what are the numbers at the bottom of each card? Are they used in a game or something?
ReplyDeleteI did. Found a nice place in my binder to store them. Was glad to pick this set up so I could complete the checklist.
DeleteReally beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWith these early menko I've noticed that some sets, even rare ones, you almost always only find in uncut sheet form. I presume this is because all the ones which were popped/cut out of the sheets got destroyed by the kids who played with them and the "deadstock" ones left unsold are the ones which survived.
That’s what I’m thinking as well. Probably have been tucked away on a shelf or drawer for a while and then discovered after the store closed or during a cleanup. I do have a few “popped out” menko from these sets and it is totally roached.
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