H553: 1955 Ranga 9 Sumo Wrestling Brick/Slammer Set!

Many years ago I discovered this 1955 Renga 9 set...probably at least 10-12 years ago at this point...and they are so rare that I never knew there was an actual variation with this set.  The backs come in two different ink colors: brown and blue.  Finding any menko from this set is tough, now there are variations I'll have to chase.  Aside from the back variations, this specific H553 set is gorgeous on the front...gold ink makes the images pop off the cardboard and adds to their quality and rarity.  Featuring almost all the top-ranked wrestlers from 1955, it has and early card of Wakanohana who was extremely popular and ultimate taking sumo to new popularity heights before handing the reigns over to one of the greatest Yokozuna of all time, Taiho, in the early 1960s.  Not to mention he was the uncle of Hanada boys who took sumo to all-time record heights in the early 1990s as Yokozuna Wakanohana and Takanohana!

H-Series menko are thick menko that were used as slammers used in the game.  Much like their modern-day POG counterparts, this heavy slammer was used to flip over the game menko and these heavy menko were often cherished by children.  It can be hit or miss on the quality of these menko...some like the H553 are still in great condition.  Others, however, are often beat up as you would expect.  These H-Series menko didn't just feature sumo wrestlers, but there are many famous movie and screen stars on several other sets. 

I recently did a YouTube video on finding two additional menko from this set...Yokozuna Chiyonoyama and Yokozuna Tochinishiki.

Thanks for stopping by!

1983-1 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Playing Card Set

I just did a video of this 1981-3 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Playing Trump Card Set over on my YouTube channel, but wanted to highlight a few more details here.  The Japanese word for playing cards is Trump or トランプ.  I'm sure there is a background on why it is called "trump"...probably was borrowed from another language.

I really like these trump sets as they feature a lot of wrestlers that really only ever got cards in these sets.  A brief history...these continued to be printed today, but started in 1973.  They usually came out one set per year (except in 2012 when the big match-fixing scandal hit sumo and in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), but at the height of sumo's popularity in the early 1990s they were cranking out 3 sets per year.  These sets were only available at the kokugikan and souvenir shops.

This particular 1983-1 set was printed in March 1983 and has some notable rikishi in the set: the dai-yokozuna Chiyonofuji as the King Diamonds, the great Yokozuna Kitanoumi as the King of Hearts, Yokozuna Takanosato ranked as an Ozeki as Queen of Spades, the young Asashifuji ranked as a Maegashira before he became Yokozuna later on in the 1980s. and of course Takamiyama who seemed like would keep competing forever.  There was a 1983-2 set made in September of that year that included an extra Queen of Clubs that showed Takanosato as a recently promoted Yokozuna...this was done to hold people over until the following year when a whole new set could be printed.

I haven't been able to research much about who manufactured these sets, but the case does say "Alaska Playing Card Company"...not sure if they made just the plastic storage cases or the whole sets.  A brief search on Google doesn't yield anything.  

Thanks for tuning in and certainly appreciate all the support over the years!

Bigger is better---Oversized 1938 Japanese Sumo Menko

Large menko are cool....not only because of their large size, but because you very rarely see them.  When you hold one you know you are holding something special because it took a small miracle for it to survive.  It had to survive wars, moms cleaning out rooms, storage in small Japanese homes, and ruthless menko battles.  So when I ran across this "large" set, I knew I needed to hold them, checklist them, and catalogue them.  They are pretty cool, not doubt, and the photographs and print quality are second to none for the era.  These R3811: 1938 Rikishi Large 7-8 menko measure about 2" x 4.5" and are a sight to behold.  What about you, do you like to collect large, "oversized" cards or are they a pain?

Have a great week everyone and sayonara!

Caricatures are fun...especially with sumo wrestlers!

Caricatures are always good time at fairs and carnivals.  I am always amazed by how quickly and relatively accurately artists are able to develop and draw these out for patrons.  I am not artistic so I always applaud and admire people who are.  Did you know some of the earliest caricatures were done by Leonardo da Vinci?  Makes sense since he was such a brilliant engineer and really used the right side of his brain to the betterment of a whole generation of artists, engineers, scientists, and craftsman.  Anyway, I digress....we are talking caricatures because of this set as it is almost truly unique in the world of sumo.  Normally, many sumo menko are drawn to approximate a rikishi's face, but this set does have the appearance of overexaggeration.  Before cameras and photographic reproduction were main stream on sumo menko, there must have been a small army of artists cranking out material.  I don't think this set was meant to be humorous or funny, but 84 years later it does bring a smile to my face.  Catalogued as the R3713: 1937 Caricature 4 set, these are fairly large at 1.5" x 3". 

Have an awesome week and sayonara!

Cold War Era - 1956 Japanese Military Menko

The Cold War in the 1950s must have been as stressful time as any to be alive given that nuclear weapons were now a real possibility and that at any time World War 3 could have ended the world as we know it.  Thankfully cooler heads prevailed to get us out of it, but I am sure it has left a lifelong impression on many citizens all over the world.  Japan was not immune from the Cold War and were caught in the political crossfire of Russia, China, Korea, and United States.  Having no offensive capability of their own, Japan relied heavily on the United States for protection and the weapons we employed during that time we fused into the lives of many children.  Menko companies took advantage of that fascination and made this set in 1956 that highlighted the popular rikishi of the era as well as some of the weapons children had no doubt read about or seen in books.

This M5623: 1956 Military 10 set is extremely hard to find...I am not sure why as most 1950s menko sets were made in decent quantities.  Maybe the war theme was too much for the general population at the time.  I have only seen these 6 menko in my over 20 years of collecting making them Extremely Rare.  Each menko measures approximately 1 3/8" x 2 3/4".

Have a great weekend and sayonara!

Paint it Purple - 1938 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Menko Set

Purple as a color is just awesome!  I guess anyone could say that about any color, but there is something about purple that screams elegance and luxury.  Did you know that purple is associated with the Japanese emperor and Japanese aristocracy?  And in England it is used only on special occasions with the Royal Family.  Crazy...anyway, purple came up as I was cataloguing this new set...the R389: 1938 Rikishi 4 set.  The fronts are a high quality picture and the backs are printed, well, in purple.  Not a deep shade of purple, but a good looking one nonetheless.  This set is extremely hard to find and I uncovered 9 menko from the set during the pandemic and am finally able to document it here and in my book.  These could be the only 9 in existence at this point.  These menko are relatively small at 1" x 2 1/8", but they make up for it as real stunners.  The backs originally had a piece of paper glued to it in order to stand them up I reckon to play kamizumo, but not sure.

Have an awesome weekend!

Pre-War Japanese Sumo Menko...I mean pre-WWI!

I don't often use the word "Museum Quality" when it comes to sumo menko.  However, the early 1900 woodblock prints that were coming out of Japan at the time are nothing short of remarkable.  There are different qualities of woodprinters no doubt, and the artists that were making menko at the time were likely not skilled enough to compete with many of the heavy hitting artists.  Nonetheless, the quality and intricacies they devoted to the woodblock menko of the time was tremendous.  The woodblock set below is the R051: 1905 Priest, Gun, Fox Back 0.  Maybe more importantly than it's 116 years in existence, is the fact that it has two extremely, extremely rare menko of Osaka Yokozuna Okido and Wakashima.  At the time, there were two factions of sumo both in Tokyo and Osaka.  The one is Osaka struggled and eventually folded into the Tokyo Association, but for a brief time talented rikishi were competing there.  They don't nearly get the love and most artists seemed to have associated in Tokyo more so not many menko were produced of the Osaka rikishi.  These menko are printed on thin cardboard-like paper and are about 1" x 1 3/4".  Someday these will be in a museum!

I hope everyone came back same from the holiday and has a great week.  Sayonara!

Back at it!

Wow, I did not expect to take that much time off of blogging...almost two months.  Work just happened to get really crazy with a project we are working on right when a lot of things started opening back up as we all start getting vaccinated.  Hence, I have not had a chance to sit in front of my computer much, nor work on many hobbies.  Anyway...am hoping to be back blogging once or twice a week.

I've been clearing out my sets that need checklisted, documented in my book, and then put in binders.  This M-Series set has been staring in my face since the pandemic...I purchased it during quarantine and have now just finally got around to documenting it.  It's a beauty and the first, and only, time I have seen any menko from this set indicating how rare it is out there.  One of the main reasons it is so rare is it was made in the middle of World War II.  1944 in fact.  How it survived all these years is a wonder and we'll never know.  However, we can now document it as the M441: 1944 Gunbai Math 2-3 set.  The drawings of the rikishi are crude, but totally fit in with the austere war conditions in Japan during the time.  The backs have an image of the judge's fan, or gunbai, and are printed in a vivid, red ink.  Inside this gunbai are the wrestlers names across the top (read from right to left) as well as birthplace, height, weight, favorite technique and stable information in the gunbai.  Also common during this time was a math equation and indicates it could have been issued in a children's school magazine.  They measure about 1 1/8" x 2 7/8" so a bit on the small side.

I hope everyone has a great week!  Sayonara!

1958 Sumo Appointment Card - What day of the week is it again?

Back in May of last year I posted about these sumo wrestling bromides calendar cards.  The first one I picked up was of Komusubi Tamanoumi and I recently stumbled across this one of future Yokozuna Asashio shown as an ozeki.  The good news is I can now nail down the year of these cards to about 1958.  These cards are interesting and really hard to find as I have only run across these two in the 20 years of collecting.  I thought they were originally from the 1960s or 1970s so I am now not sure what company Daiichi is or what services/products it provided.  More to follow I am sure as I try and find a few more of these along the way.  I hope everyone has an awesome week!

1964 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Post Cards - PC641

I am not a big sumo wrestling post card collector, but I feel like I am missing the boat every time I pick up a few random post card sets.  Post Cards provide a snapshot in time of what sumo wrestlers looked like at the time of the photograph.  Although not as visually appealing as some of the menko of the day, some post card designs are very nicely done and worthy of a second look anytime I am browsing card auctions.  Take this newly discovered PC-series set, PC641: 1964 Blue Background Postcards, for instance.  The colors, simplicity, and "crudeness" make this an easy pick up in my book especially since there are some rikishi that very rarely show u[p on cards.  Equally interesting is how rare 1960s Japanese cards are; from the mid- to late-1960s they are virtually non-existent, including Japanese baseball cards.  There was a cultural and economic tussle in the 1960s that encouraged kids, and the Japanese economy, to strive to be #1 and consequently a lot of the toys and games kids played with went to the wayside while they focused their attention on studying.  Similarly, the accessibility of television sets also pulled kids attention away from the games of old to the virtual diversions being broadcast out to the masses.  This set captures the top rikishi from the summer of 1964:

Yokozuna Taiho

Yokozuna Kashiwado

Yokozuna Tochinoumi

Ozeki Sadanoyama

Ozeki Kitabayama

Ozeki Yutakayama

  

1993 Sumo Wrestling POGs - Konishiki & Musashimaru

A little over a year ago I stumbled upon some POGs from 1993 that depicted the famous Hawaiian sumo wrestlers Musashimaru, Akebono, and Konishiki.  Their popularity coincided with the American POG craze of the mid-1990s and were subsequently captured on several sets.  I was recently able to pick this POG set up from a friend that features then Ozeki Konishiki and then-Sekiwake Musashimaru with the latter going on to attain sumo's highest rank, Yokozuna.  Scans don't do the images justice, but the pictures are a combination of blue and gold foil.  For Musashimaru's POGs they say "Ring Champ" and "Fiamalu Penitani - Waianae's Pride Hawaii, 1993".  For Konishiki's POGs they say "Ambassador of Sumo" and "Salevaa Atisanoe - Nana Kuli's Son Hawaii, 1993".  Both Waianae and NanaKuli are areas in Hawaii.  The backs say these POGs were printed in Hong Kong as well as lists a telephone number "955-7109" although I haven't been able to determine what business/person this phone number is associated with after doing a quick Google search.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

2016 Japanese BBM Masterpiece "Stay Gold" Card - Yokozuna Hokutoumi

In the not-so-distant past, BBM was doing some interesting things with their multi-sport sets.  BBM, in a break from their normal conservatism, issued "Super Metallic Cards" [スーパーメタリックカード] of a handful of athletes as part of the Stay Gold subset to the 2016 BBM Masterpiece set.  2016 BBM Masterpiece has a slew of other cool subsets as well: the lenticular "Glorious 3D" subset, the holographic "Superstar" subset, the "Sparkling Hero" subset, and combo, vertical, horizontal autograph subsets.  One of the athletes they captured within the Stay Gold set is Yokozuna Hokutoumi who had risen through the ranks during the same time as the legendary Yokozuna Chiyonofuji.  Hokutoumi was strong, but his true potential was tapped down by Chiyonofuji's sheer dominance.  He ended his career in 1992 with 8 respectable championships.

These Stay Gold cards are heavy....almost 1 oz!  Since inserting these in card packs would have certainly been detected due to their weight, BBM issued redemption cards that a lucky winner would send off in return for one of these.  I have seen Stay Gold cards pop up from time to time, but I have never seen the corresponding return letter than BBM also included with the card....until recently.  I was able to pick up both the card and the letter from eBay recently.  It also reveals that even though BBM issued these as part of their Stay Gold subset, they refer to them as Super Metallic Cards!  Maybe insignificant to most, but part of the entire story that inspires me as a collector.

These don't scan well, but here are a few photos I was able to snap along with BBM's correspondence.

Have a great week and stay safe!

It Turns Out...Golf Holes-In-One and Japanese Sumo Wrestling

It turns out that getting a hole in one in golf is actually quite hard and if you are a sumo wrestler it is even harder.  Over 50 years ago the former Yokozuna Tochinishiki got one and has since been the first, and only, active or retired sumo wrestler to do so.  How hard is it to get a hole in one?  Well, according to the U.S. National Hole-In-One Registry it is about 1:12000 for an average player....so given that a course has about 3-4 Par 3s, you would need to play about 3500 rounds of golf before you sink one.  American baseball has seen numerous holes-in-one by active and former players: Mike Maddux, Luke Hudson, and Brian Matusz to name a few.  Football's legendary Jan Stenerud and Peyton Manning have both hit one.  Even the NBA's future HOFer Steph Curry has made one.

Here is Yokozuna Tochnishiki's 1957 Tsuki 8-9-10 menko that is also extremely rare...like hitting a hole-in-one.  Fewer than 10 of these menko are known to exist...

Thanks for stopping by and sayonara!

1953 Paper Sumo Wrestling (Kami Zumo) Game (G531)

These kami zumo (paper sumo) games are quite interesting.  The playing pieces for the game are not technically cards, but they are ephemera and can be quite collectible.  This 1953 kami zumo game falls into one of those categories of things I like to collect along with my menko and cards.  Kami zumo is quite simple to play; take these paper game pieces/figures, fold them so that they stand, and then lean them against each other on the paper sumo ring (see ring below).  Once they are leaning against each other, tap the table or board that the ring is sitting on in order to vibrate the game pieces and make one of them fall over on top of the other or push the other piece out of the ring.  It can be quite fun and provides that indoor entertainment we all need during COVID.

This 1953 kami zumo game had at least three different color inks used to print the game pieces: red, pink, and brown.  Interestingly, they also came with a small sword to give to the winner as a prize as well as a gunbai (fan) for the referee to point to the winning side.  Measuring about 2" x 2.25" I've only ever seen pieces from this set in almost pristine condition and not played with...not sure why, but I guess all the used pieces were thrown away over the years.  As you might expect, this 68-year old game is quite hard to find and I recently came across 3 "new" pieces to add to my collection.  I now have only 5 in my collection after almost 17 years of searching.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

1956 Japanese Sumo Magazine Card Inserts

We are well into our 6th month of coronavirus lock down and I sure hope everyone out there is doing well.  These are once-in-a lifetime, life-changing events so I can't complain about the relatively minor impacts my family and I are going through.  One thing that has affected my hobby of collecting sumo cards is the shipping of material from Japan now takes 2 months instead of 1-2 weeks.  Alas, the bright side is I often forget what I bought so there are great surprises when I get to open the boxes.  One of these nice surprises is this set of 1956 black and white bromide cards that was issued as a free giveaway to the purchasers of the March 1956 Sumo "相撲" magazine.  They are postcard sized with blank backs and came in this thin paper sleeve.  The entire set is 9 cards which represents the top 9 wrestlers at the time.  I have another set of these, but for almost 10 years I never knew how they were issued so I had originally cataloged them as a 1956 BB-Series (Black and White Bromide) set.  Now they are cataloged as a Z-Series (Magazine Insert) set with the designation Z563: 1956 Sumo Magazine Facsimile Bromide Set.  Here is the checklist:

Yokozuna Tochinishiki

Yokozuna Yoshibayama

Yokozuna Chiyonoyama

Yokozuna Kagamisato

Ozeki Wakanohana

Ozeki Ouchiyama

Ozeki Matsunobori

Sekiwake Asashio

Sekiwake Tokitsuyama

Stay safe and have a great week!

1936 Sumo Wrestling Stadium Set - S361: 1936 Kokugikan Color Set

This is one set I have been excited to scan for a while as it is one of the early S-Series sumo wrestling card sets out there.  Why was I excited?  Well, this set contains the earliest color card with an actual picture (not a cartoon drawing like on the R-Series rikishi) of legendary Yokozuna Futabayama.  And sprinkled throughout are other wrestlers that have only appeared in this set as far as I can tell.  Maegashira Bochozan....never heard of him until today and he only spent 5 tournaments at the very bottom portion of the top division.  Same with Maegashira Oyashima...6 tournaments barely scraping by in the top division.

These S-Series sets were sold at the Kokugikan as souvenirs with the intent of taking them home and using them as visual reference as fans listened to the tournaments over the radio as that was a popular way way to catch the tournament without actually going to the stadium.  As you can imagine, these sets had to have survived the fire-bombings of World War 2 as well as the test of time and to be able to land and catalogue one of these sets is a real honor!  Cards are somewhat small at 1.75" x 2.75" and usually come 32 cards to the set.

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend and stays safe!  Sayonara!

1958 Japanese Baseball and Sumo Stamps - Nagashima and Wakanohana

The late 1950s had several multi-sport sets that captured some of the most popular sumo and baseball stars of the time. Hugely popular in the late 1950s in sumo wrestling was Yokozuna Wakanohana and in baseball, Shigeo Nagashima. Both of these athletes dominated newspapers, magazines, and the attention of young children. Included as free giveaways in the Shonen series of children's magazines in 1958, these stamps show a young Nagashima in his Giants uniform and a seasoned Wakanohana who had just been promoted to Yokozuna. Both of these individuals would rise to the some of the highest levels of respect within their sports and these stamps capture them as athletes striving to make names for themselves.  Now catalogued as the Z581: 1958 Shonen Sumo and Baseball Stamps, these extremely rare stamps are printed on thin paper and were meant to be licked and stuck onto something or inside something.  Thanks for stopping by and stay safe out there!

 

 

 

Making Time to Read - 1960s Japanese Sumo Wrestling Bookmark

These days, you'd think that I would have a lot more time to read....however, with the lines blurred between my work space and office space within the confines of my home I tend to spend a lot more time working which leaves a lot less time for reading.  I do love to read....magazines, manga, books, blogs...you name it, one of my escapes is reading and if you can throw in a fireplace to sit in front of, I am in heaven.  The Japanese are avid readers as well and bookmarks are a staple for any Japanese kid.  In the 1950s and 1960s, bookmarks were often given away as promotional items inside monthly children's magazines as is the case with this bookmark below.  The Manga King （まんが王）magazines were extremely popular from the early 1960s to 1970s and included this Yokozuna Wakanohana bookmark in a magazine from likely 1960 or 1961. This is the only one I have seen in almost two decades of collecting attesting to its rarity...much like the rarity in my reading time these days.

Stay safe out there and thanks for stopping by. 

Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em - Japanese 1956 Mitsuwa Sumo Wrestling - Yokozuna Tochinishiki

I don't promote smoking and occasionally like a good cigar, but the 1950s were a flamboyant era when smoking was all the rage and fashion.  Did you know that in the 1950s almost half of the Japanese population smoked or consumed tobacco?  In fact, in 1956 the per-capita consumption was over 1400 cigarettes!  That equates to every Japanese man, woman, and child each smoking over 1400 cigarettes in 1956 alone.  Crazy....but I digress.  Sumo wrestlers were not immune to the influence of smoking as captured on one of the only known sumo cards that shows a wrestler smoking.  Here is Yokozuna Tochinishiki having a nice drag in his yukata...given that his chomage is done up, this picture was taken right before or after a match or before a special event. What are your thoughts with tobacco products being "consumed" on trading cards?

1956 Sumo Wrestling Bookmarks

Recently, I stumbled across these somewhat unusual "cards" in the form of bookmarks.  Actually, they are bookmarks, but still a fun paper collectible.  I have only ever seen these four cards alluding to how rare they are.  I usually do an occasional search for sumo bookmarks and just happened to time it right for these to be at auction.  It looks like these were issued in uncut sheet that kids would have to cut out and were likely issued in kids magazines which were really popular in the 1950s. I love the black look on these.....pretty sharp looking which is why I picked them up.  Notice the uncut hole at the top where the bookmark string would go in...I'm wondering if the string came within the magazine as well.  Oh well, what do you think?  Anyone else collect oddball sports ephemera?

Have a great weekend!!!