2020 Year in Review

Geez, it seemed like yesterday that I was just doing this, but here we go again.  I really like to read fellow bloggers' year-end summaries and their New Year collecting goals.  It helps me find inspiration in my own collecting and we definitely need that this year.  I feel like I did fairly well this past year finally getting settled in a high-stress job and adjusting to life under a pandemic.  Since I collect cards mostly from Japan, my collecting habits weren't impacted too much and other than slower shipping over to the U.S., my hobby weathered the storm rather uneventfully.  Let's hope that 2021 brings a lot more health and prosperity to all of us and let's get 2020 behind us!  Over the past three years, here is how I fared with my Annual Goals:

2017 Overall Grade = B

2018 Overall Grade = A-

2019 Overall Grade = B

 

In 2020, I set out to accomplish 10 collecting and hobby goals.  I do this every year and I know it can seem quite ambitious, but I thought most of them could be easily achievable....I wanted my trophies and to get my "A" grade.  The pandemic did curtail some of these so I will "grade on the curve" on those.  Thanks for reading.

Goal #1: Blog at least once a week - 52 posts this year! - Grade "A"
Darn, you would have thought I would have knock this out of the park to an "A+"...well beyond once a week, but the inefficiencies of working from home and the increased amount of time devoted to pandemic work really limited my blogging time until about November.  Fortunately, these past few months allowed me to catch up.  I am claiming victory here and thanks to all my loyal readers!

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist - Grade "D"

This did not happen....again.....  I keep putting it on here in hopes that I can make it happen.  Is 2021 the year for this?  I need about 40 hours to get everything tidied up, final checklists updated, and all the administrative stuff that goes along with self publishing a book.  However, I am constantly updating the checklists in the draft of the book and whittling away at the work, but need to hunker down and light a fire to get over the goal line.  Almost a big goose egg this year, but the ball did move forward on this.

 

 

 

Goal #3: Add 5 more Sumo World magazines from 1973-1999 to my collection - Grade "A+"

Boom, I was able to connect with a long-time sumo fan who was downsizing her collection and I was able to pick up the remainder of all these magazines (except for the July 1974) and even added some post-1999 issues.  These are such a wealth of history and information I would love to be able to republish them for the greater community to read.  However, I now have the entire run and ready to retire this goal! 

 

 

 

Goal #4: Attend three card shows this year - Grade "Audit"

Well, I think it is fair to have "dropped" this goal and have audited it for the year.  SoCal does not have a great variety of shows, so I've had to travel elsewhere for shows....however, the pandemic basically killed that this year.  I had a great time with Fuji last year and was really looking forward to do it again this year.  It's an easy flight up to San Jose from SoCal and Fuji is an amazing friend and so easy to converse with..plus we now have a DelTaco tradition.  I have penciled in the National this year which is another easy flight from LAX to Chicago.  More to follow on that.  

 

Goal #5: Add three more 1973 Calbee cards to my set - Grade "A+"
Boom, nailed this goal this year with some nice pick ups!  I'm ready to get to the halfway point in set completion in 2021!  

Goal #6: Keep rounding out my Japanese yukata fabric bolt & card collection - Grade "A+"
Another home-run goal!  This is one of the quirks in my collection.  In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese cloth makers would add photo cards to bolts of indigo yukata material to help entice the buyer into buying the material to take home to make their own yukata.  Say what?  Yeah, hard to explain, but here are a few pictures to help give you a visual.  The problem with these is not so much the price, but they are heavy and expensive to import to the U.S.  Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but I'll figure it out at some point.  Weird, huh?  I was able to pick up a ton of them this year....so many that I very rarely see any new ones pop up for auction anymore.  Likely going to make this a different goal for next year and that is to get them catalogued on my blog.

 

 

 

Goal #7: Publish at least 6 BBM Card Set reviews - Grade "F"
This did no happen this year....booo.  I had a little hobby/video area set up to do this and then the pandemic hit and hobby/office got rearranged to accommodate a home office which overtook my hobby area.  So, alas, I did not get to this and not sure I will be able to until the pandemic is over.  I could have made it work, but too many other things took over.  

Goal #8: Add 20 more cards to my Non-Sport Collection - Grade "A+"
Wow, I was on a roll this year with my non-sports collections as a lot of the cards seemed to show up for auction.  I attribute it to the pandemic and people were selling because 1) they needed the money, or 2) they were bored and digging out all their old cards.  To recap, I am very particular with my non-sumo wrestling sets and only have a few sets that I am actively collecting: 1980s Japanese Myojo Noodle Cards, 2002-2005 Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards, 1980s Famikon (NES) Amada Cards, Airport Trading Cards, & 1970s Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Cards. 

 

Goal #9: Send out 10 care packages - Grade "A"

I lost count of who I sent out packages this year, but I am pretty sure I was able to get to 10.  I'll chock this one up as a win!

 

 

 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko - Grade "A-"

For a fourth year in a row, my goal has been for this blog to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  Last year I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1 to #6 on Google.  Now I am in the top 3 all around!  This is a fun one to chase and trying to beat the search engines algorithms is always a challenge.  Excluding the ad sites that always pop up at the top, here is how I fared this year (last year's rankings are in brackets [ ]:

Sumo Card: Bing #1 [#2], Google #2 [#6], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Cards: Bing #1 [#2], Google #2 [#4], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Menko:#1 [#1], Google #1 [#1], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Wrestling Card: Bing #3 [#1], Google #3 [#3], Yahoo #3 [#1]

Sumo Wrestling Cards: Bing #2 [#1] , Google #2 [#2], Yahoo #2 [#1]

  

Well, there you have it again.  A ton of really good "A" grades marked by two not-so-good "D" and "F" grades.  It was a great year collecting and so I feel like I earned a "A-" this year.  As always, thanks for stopping by and being a part of this blog.  I hope everyone stays safe tomorrow on New Year's Eve and I'll catch everyone in the next New Year!  Sayonara!

2020 Overall Grade = A-

2020 Sumo Wrestling Playing Cards

"Playing Cards" in the United States are known as "Trump Cards" (トランプ　カード) in Japan.  Not getting political here, but Trump Cards don't have anything to do with President Donald Trump, but rather have to do with the "Trump" being the term used to identify a powerful suit in different types of card games.  The tie to sumo wrestling has to do with the fact that these sets are popular souvenirs during tournament time as they depict the different active sumo wrestlers.  Since 1973, there have been over 63 sumo wrestling trump card sets released.  From quick napkin math, you can see that in some years there was more than one set released.  This often was the case when sumo popularity was extremely high and the Japan Sumo Association was trying to capture the latest, ever-changing ranks of the wrestlers.  This past September, the Japan Sumo Association released its 63rd set.  I scanned the top 3 cards in each suit (J,Q,K) of this 2020 set as these cards depict the 12 highest-ranked wrestlers at the time.  Interestingly, the Japanese don't view the Ace as a strong card in general, but with these sumo wrestling sets, the Ace is usually a veteran or someone notable so not necessary the weakest wrestler either.

Congrats - Sekiwake Shodai on his 1st Sumo Championship!

Sekiwake Shodai has been tearing it up recently and the extra reset he is getting during the COVID-19 Pandemic seems to be helping his sumo.  He just won his first Top-Division Championship today and looks to be getting his Ozeki promotion news soon (hopefully).  He absolutely dominated and beat everyone that was ranked above him and finished the tournament with a 13-2 record.

Here is Shodai featured on his September 2020 Fantasy Sumo Card and the next time we see him on a card he will most likely be an Ozeki.

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend and sayonara!

RIP Byamba

The world of amateur sumo wrestling lost a great representative this past weekend.  Ulambayaryn Byambajav, or Byamba as he was affectionately known as, passed away at the age of 35.  The SumoByamba.com website has more information about Byamba and his contributions to the sumo community.  He is most remembered as a TV and Movie star, but he was very talented inside the ring as well.  R.I.P. Byamba

2020 BBM Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards Arrive Next Week!

Here we go, BBM's first sumo wrestling set of the year goes on sale next week to coincide with the first tournament of the year.  BBM has timed this annual release to be at the fingertips of collectors when their favorite wrestlers are battling it out in the ring during the January tournament.  A very much predictable release of 90 cards with the chance at an autograph in about every other box, this set is one of the more eye appealing in recent years.  Three subsets are intertwined in the 90-card set with the usual Young Hands (Up-and-Comers), Off-Shots (Candid - Back Stage Pass), and a special 1-card subset to commemorate Yokozuna Kisenosato's retirement.  Take a look and let me know what you think of this set. 

 

2020 Collecting Goals

A lot of bloggers out there seem to hate writing their New Year Collecting Goals.  It is sometimes viewed as an obligation or mandatory....something they have to do.  Not me. I love setting hobby goals and this post isn't as much for my readers as it is for me...although I definitely enjoy the loyal readers who are sharing in this adventure with me.  Let's hope 2020 was as fruitful and enjoyable collecting sumo wrestling menko and cards as was last year.  Here are my 10 collecting goals this year:

Goal #1: Blog at least once a week - 52 posts this year!
I had a lot of stuff to blog about last year, but not enough time and bandwidth to do it all.  This year, I am going to set a goal of publishing a blog post at least once a week which should be easy to achieve.  Hopefully I'll be able to add a few extra blogs in the middle of the week here and there to knock this one out of the park.  Thanks to my loyal readers for making this blog fun!

 

 

 

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.

Gah, I really need to get this book out the door.  There are a ton of new checklists that I have catalogued or that are in the queue.  Lots of new information and several corrections.  Not to mention that this I have revamped some of the sections to make it even more comprehensive and historically accurate.  This is the year to do this!

 

 

 

Goal #3: Add 5 more Sumo World magazines from 1973-1999 to my collection.

This will be a tough one for sure as these Sumo World magazines are harder and harder to find on the secondary market.  Now that I am down to basically filling in holes with my collection, finding affordable copies will be hard.  Luck will have to be a factor here.  For those that haven't read any Sumo World magazines, they were once the only English-language source of sumo wrestling information.  People from all over the English-speaking world had subscriptions and it was the go-to guide for sumo enthusiasts.  With the advent of the internet, the publication quickly became outdated, but the historical value captured inside these is second to none.  A true treasure trove of information that is contained nowhere else.

 

 

 

Goal #4: Attend three card shows this year.

It is no secret that card shows are a dying event across the U.S.  Even with a rich sports market out here in California, we can't muster up much in the way of some local shows.  But I still love going and even more excited for the nostalgic euphoria that I get from the thrill of the hunt and the browsing.  My goal is to make three shows this year...and hopefully one or two with Fuji with a celebratory Del Taco feast afterwards.

 

Goal #5: Add three more 1973 Calbee cards to my set.
If I can snag three reasonably priced cards for this set this year, it will definitely be a miracle.  Acheivable, but still difficult.  I need to save my dollars and yen for the really expensive cards later on....if they are around.  If I can knock out 10% of the set every year, I should be done by the time 2026 rolls around.  Here, just take my money now, it is not going to be cheap!

Goal #6: Keep rounding out my Japanese yukata fabric bolt & card collection.
Most of you are like, WTH?  Yeah, this is one of the quirks in my collection.  In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese cloth makers would add photo cards to bolts of indigo yukata material to help entice the buyer into buying the material to take home to make their own yukata.  Say what?  Yeah, hard to explain, but here are a few pictures to help give you a visual.  The problem with these is not so much the price, but they are heavy and expensive to import to the U.S.  Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but I'll figure it out at some point.  I am assuming it will just come to me on why I have them at some point.  Weird, huh?

 

 

 

Goal #7: Publish at least 6 BBM Card Set reviews.
I used to do a better job at this, but with limited time this one has fallen to the wayside.  However, I'd like to continue with blog reviews (ideally YouTube box break reviews).  I should be able to cover all the sumo wrestling releases as well as the B.League basketball sets leaving me with doing a few of the non-sport and other "fun" releases that BBM does every year.  Wish me luck!

Goal #8: Add 20 more cards to my Non-Sport Collection
I am very particular with my non-sumo wrestling sets and only have a few sets that I am actively collecting: 1980s Japanese Myojo Noodle Cards, 2002-2005 Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards, 1980s Famikon (NES) Amada Cards, Airport Trading Cards, & 1970s Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Cards. Since I am whittling my sets down to singles now, large lots are hard to come by so achieving 20 cards in this category will be quite challenging.

 

 

 

 

Goal #9: Send out 10 care packages.

For those that know me, I love to give random stuff.  Much like Kenny's Zaps, it feels good to give.  Enough said....

 

 

 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko

For a third year in a row, I want to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  Last year I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1-#6 on Google.  This is a fun one to chase and trying to beat the search engines algorithms is always a challenge.  Plus, I want to be at the top of the list so I am easy to find for all you future readers out there.

 

 

Well, there you have it again.  Thanks for stopping by and sticking with this post to the end and thanks for sticking with this blog all these years.  Happy New Year and best of luck collecting!