Collection of ephemera on female sumo wrestlers

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[Collection of ephemera on female sumo wrestlers]

[Various creators].

[Japan, ca. Meiji to early Shōwa period (1880-1930s?)].

An archive relating to the activities of female sumo wrestlers in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Women were banned by the government from sumo wrestling in 1926 despite centuries of participating in the sport. The ban on women entering the sumo dohyō made news in 2018 after several women rushed to help the mayor of Maizuru, Kyoto, who had collapsed in the ring, but were told by the referee to step down. Two of the sets of postcards in this archive depict the Ishiyama Troupe, perhaps the most famous travelling performance troupe of female sumo wrestlers, demonstrating feats of strength, balance, and agility on a trip to Hawaii. The other postcard set depicts the Second Takatama Troupe performing similar feats. The woodblock-printed envelope advertises the Hirai Troupe. Three French postcards of women wrestling are also included. The ticket included in the archive was for a performance by the First Hokushū Club of women wrestlers in Miyagi Park in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture. The troupes of wrestlers in the two group photographs and the women in the portrait photographs are unidentified. The woodblock print, published in Osaka by Kimura Matsunosuke in Meiji 10 (1877), shows a "Heroine of Kagoshima" wrestling a "Heroine of Kiso", and is from the artist Gyokuha's Konjaku Sumō Kagami ("A Mirror of Sumo Wrestlers, Ancient and Modern") series. A scarce collection on a topical sport.

Nine photographs, 28 postcards, three postcard envelopes, one stamped ticket, one program, one woodblock-printed mini-envelope, and one colour woodblock print. Occasional soiling, browning, tears, wear, and marks. Losses to postcard envelopes. Some postcards used, three duplicates. Largest photo measures 26.3 x 20.3 cm.

Collection of ephemera on female sumo wrestlers
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