I hope everyone has a great week and stays safe out there. Sayonara!
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
Monday, February 22, 2021
c1937 Sumo Wrestling Menko - R3712 Rikishi Double Arch 4
There are still dozens of uncatalogued 1930s R-Series sumo wrestling menko sets waiting to be discovered. During the 1930s and early 1940s, the paper sumo (kami zumo) boom was in full force in Japan and these R-series menko were extremely popular. In the latter half of the 1930s Japan was at war with China and many sumo wrestlers had their ceremonial aprons adorned with war-themed images: planes, tanks, ships, and artillery. This R3712: 1937 Rikishi Double Arch 4 set that I recently stumbled across exemplifies this turbulent time in world history. Previously uncatalogued, the checklist now stands at 3 with #7207 - Maegashira Katsuragawa, #6713 - Maegashira Tsurugamine, & #5431 - Maegashira Dewanohana. These might be some of the only ones of this set in existence.
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Always love seeing posts involving cards that might be the only surviving ones in the world. The war themed aprons are so colorful. These cards are really, really attractive.
ReplyDeleteThe aprons are really nicely done in this set for sure.
DeleteNo doubt, a ton of menko and cards were destroyed in the war....some sets we likely will never get to catalogue and are lost to history.
Beautiful cards, despite the ominous subject matter the aprons are quite a sight to behold.
ReplyDeleteWar was definitely on the horizon. Post war Japan, or at least right after the war, was so interesting for the sport. Hopefully something this world never repeats again.
DeleteBeautiful cards. Those aprons are so impressive. Quite the find.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Some pretty cool menko came out of the 1930s for sure.
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