New Set: 1930 One-Color Disks - C301

Discovering new menko sets is always a thrill.  Discovering new C-Series/Round menko sets is awesome and on a whole new level.  It is what keeps me going in the sumo card hobby.  I came across this set recently and knew it was extremely unique when I got it in hand.  Why?  First, it was printed in 1930 during a time when only a few cards/postcards were being printed of rikishi so it captures some obscure wrestlers.  Second, C-series menko were not popular so only a few of these types of sets were printed and even fewer survive today.  And lastly, this is the only C-series set that actually uses real photos of wrestlers instead of drawings.  This set is constructed by printing the images on paper, gluing that paper to thin cardboard, and then die cutting the menko out.  On some of my menko the paper and cardboard are separating as the 90-year old glue is starting to lose its grip.
You can see the glue separation as well as the layout of the menko on this miscut example:

As an added bonus, this set's checklist is the largest of the type coming in at 14 cards.  Each menko measures approximately 1.75"/4.5cm in diameter.

Here are the four colors shown with the Gyoji card - Grey, Purple, Pink, Blue:

Here are the three Yokozuna in the set.  The rather lackluster Yokozuna Minanogawa (shown here as Komusubi Asashio), the equally lackluster Yokozuna Miyagiyama, and the great Tamanishiki (shown here as a Sekiwake)!

c1901 Japanese Woodblock Sumo Wrestling Menko!

A few weeks ago I showcased an early 1900s Japanese Woodblock Baseball Menko.  In total there are close to 50 menko in this entire set including famous actors, sumo wrestlers, children playing games, and folklore story scenes.  I've since narrowed down this set to likely 1900 or 1901....more likely 1901.  It's hard to describe in detail how gorgeous these woodblock menko are with their vivid colors and gold gilding.  Absolutely beautiful.  In this set are at least 8 sumo wrestling menko...I'm trying to confirm several more that I have as coming from this set or another one.  Right now I'll base the sumo subset off the January 1901 banzuke for cataloguing purposes.

Yokozuna Konishiki. Sumo's 17th Yokozuna, but was actually more dominant before he attained the rank of Yokozuna.  He retired in 1901.

Ozeki Umenotani (Future Yokozuna).  The great rival of Hitachiyama and was promoted to Yokozuna at the same time.  They brought sumo into the modern era along with increased popularity!

Sekiwake Hitachiyama (Future Yokozuna): The great rival of Umenotani!  He eventually went on to head the Dewanoumi Stable and train three Yokozuna himself.  At the time of his death, he was the most successful and influential Yokozuna.

Sekiwake Araiwa (future Ozeki):  Not a particularly dominate Ozeki.  He retired in 1909.

Maegashira Sakahoko: He bounced around the high Maegashira-ranks and sanyaku ranks before retiring in 1907.

Hidenoumi:  I haven't been able to find out anything about this wrestler, but he could have been part of the Osaka Sumo Association.

Yokozuna Hachijin: He was a Yokozuna in the Osaka Sumo Association although he retired in 1874 and headed up that organization until 1899.

Abunomatsu:  I believe this gentleman was a gyoji looking at his hair style.

Circa 1898-1903 Japanese Baseball Menko

I've seen this woodblock-printed menko on a few occasions before, but have never been able to pick up a copy.  A few weeks back it came up in a large lot of other menko from this woodblock set (the set contains somewhere around 30-50 menko), luckily with some sumo wrestling menko that I needed from the same set.  I haven't been able to nail down an exact year for the set, but it is somewhere between 1898-1903 according to the sumo wrestlers that are depicted.  All the menko in this set are absolutely gorgeous with crisp, black lines, vivid red and pinks, and gold gilded ink to highlight parts of the menko.  It measures about 1.75" in diameter.  This particular menko shows three kids playing baseball...one getting ready to pitch, one batting, and one which looks to be a catcher.  The large word in the middle is Marinage, 毬なげ, or playing catch.  I love the gold gilding on the clothes and bat.  According to Baseball Reference, "Horace Wilson introduced baseball to Japan sometime between 1867 and 1873 in the early Meiji Era.  Wilson was a professor at Kaisei Gakko (now Tokyo University).  In 1873 Albert Bates, an American teaching at Kaitaku University organized he first game."  It makes sense that baseball would be depicted on the card as it seemed to be gaining popularity during this time and paper menko were becoming popular as well.  More to follow and I'll post some other menko that I picked up from the set.