Professional Wrestlers and the Grand Tournament — Sumo—Japanese Wrestling — Takase Studios

Fine Japanese Calligraphy

The Art of Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

IV. PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS AND THE GRAND TOURNAMENT

Photograph of a large building seen from a street corner. A wide low dome with a small domed cap at its top rises behind a pale curved-front lower building, and a tall open scaffold tower stands against the dome at the right. The lower building has tall windows grouped in a bay at the center, a dark doorway below it, and signs and hanging banners with writing at street level. Small figures of people stand along the street, a traffic signal is at the left, a car shows at the lower right, and trees stand at the right. — Kokugi-kan Amphitheater, Ryōgoku, Tōkyō

Photograph looking down into a very crowded hall. At the left a large gabled roof with a wooden frame under its gable and a valance of white scalloped lace-like trim over dark swags stands on posts above a pale platform, on which a few small figures show at the lower center. Spectators fill the floor in dense rows and the galleries at the right, and a banner of Japanese characters runs along the gallery railing. Bright haze spreads across the top of the picture. — Interior of Kokugi-kan Amphitheater

Photograph of a closely packed crowd of spectators seen from among them, most of the men in dark suits and ties, some in caps, with several faces turned toward the same point at the right. Columns and balconies show at the back, and a banner of Japanese characters runs along the top edge. Heads and shoulders fill the lower foreground. — Tension around the ring

Dim photograph of the edge of a pale platform. A bare-chested man in a dark belt squats low at the center with one hand near the floor and the other stretched toward a man in a light patterned robe who bends toward him from the left. At the right a man in a pale robe stands behind a draped table or stand with a small pale object on its top. A post wrapped with paper strips stands at the upper left. Spectators sit in rows behind, and the dark heads of men, one in a pointed black cap, fill the foreground. — A prize is awarded to the winner of the select match

Photograph of a heavy man standing facing the camera with his feet apart and his arms at his sides, bare to the waist, with a topknot. A thick twisted white rope is wound around his middle, and an apron with white zigzag paper strips hanging over it covers the front of his dark belt. Below that is a wide band with lettering in Japanese characters between two thick cords, and a deep fringe of twisted cords hangs at the hem. He stands on bare gritty ground against a plain backdrop. — Yokozuna wrestler in ceremonial dress

Photograph of a heavy man standing facing the camera with his arms at his sides, bare to the waist, with a topknot. A wide folded belt of pale cloth is at his waist, and an apron hangs below it decorated with a dark disc, a peaked shape with white streaks and rounded shapes below them, with Japanese characters in a vertical line at the left edge. Below that are a band with lettering in Japanese characters between two thick cords and a deep fringe of twisted cords at the hem. He stands on bare ground against a plain mottled backdrop. — First Rank wrestler in ceremonial dress

Pen drawing of the back of a head and the tops of the shoulders, with the hair combed in streaks toward the crown and gathered into a wide knot that is folded forward over the top, a small pale leaf-shaped piece at its base. One ear shows at the right. Printed beneath the drawing: Ō-ityō-mage.

Pen drawing of the back of a head and the tops of the shoulders, with the hair combed smooth in streaks toward the crown into a rounded mass and a small knot at the top left, a small pale oval piece at its base. One ear shows faintly at the right. Printed beneath the drawing: Kuri-mage.

Pen drawing of the back of a head and the tops of the shoulders, with the hair cut short at the sides and back and gathered in a small knot standing on the top of the head, a small pale oval piece at its base. One ear shows at the right. Printed beneath the drawing: Tyon-mage.

Photograph of two men in long pale robes patterned with large dark round crests, each wearing a black cap, at the edge of a raised platform. The man at the left is seen from the side with his head turned to the left, and a thin pale rod points out to the left at his waist. The man at the right is seen from behind. A thick dark post with white paper strips and a spiral cord at its top stands between them, a crowd fills the hall behind, and a plaid-patterned cloth and a seated man show at the lower right. — Umpire going into ring for next bout

Large black-and-white printed sheet with a heavy dark border, entirely Japanese writing. A tall central column of large characters runs down the middle from the top with smaller vertical lines beneath, and two halves, left and right, are laid out alike on either side of it. Each half has a top band of very large, densely packed bold characters and, below it, bands of fine small writing in rows separated by bands of small flag-like marks, with panels at the bottom. — List of wrestlers

Photograph against a dark background of a thick pale twisted rope coiled into a wide ring, with a knot of the rope at the top center and an upright loop of thinner twisted rope standing above it. Chains of folded white paper strips in a zigzag hang from the thick ring, four of them across the front and more at the sides. — The Yokozuna rope

Photograph looking down into a very crowded hall. A large gabled roof with a dark valance edged with white zigzag trim stands over a platform at the center, and a group of men in belts stand side by side in a row on the platform, around a post. Spectators fill the floor and the galleries behind the roof, and the dark heads of the crowd fill the foreground. Bright haze spreads across the upper part. — “Entering the Ring” ceremony of the First Rank wrestlers

Photograph of a platform with men in aprons. In the foreground two bare-chested men in pale belt cloths walk across the center, one seen from the side and the other with an arm raised to his head, and a third man is partly seen at the right edge. Behind them a row of men stand in aprons marked with large round crests and with deep fringes at the hem, some of them smiling. The dark head and shoulders of a spectator fill the lower left. — Wrestlers leaving ring after ceremony

Photograph of a broad flat platform. A heavy man at the center bends forward at the waist on one leg, one arm lifted behind him, in an apron with a hanging pale panel. A bare-chested man sits on a low bundle at the left with one hand raised, another sits on a low bundle at the right of center, and at the far right a man in a patterned robe and black cap kneels holding a flat object. A pale post with paper strips stands at the upper right, a band of writing shows along the upper left, and the dark heads of spectators line the bottom. — Yokozuna wrestler going through formalities of dezuiri

Dim photograph. At the center right a heavy man stands with his back to the camera, his legs apart, one arm stretched out to the right and his head tipped back, a thick rope ring with hanging strips at his back. In the left foreground another man, bare-backed with a topknot, sits turned away from the camera, and a long slender dark rod in his hand stands upright beside the standing man. Another man sits bare-chested at the far left, and a figure in a dark robe marked with round crests crouches at the right. — One of the three motions with hands performed in dezuiri

Close photograph of a man with a bald crown and round glasses, in a dark robe, leaning forward and writing with a pencil on a long strip of paper held in his other hand, the strip printed with small pictures and Japanese characters. At the right a man with round glasses, in a dark suit and tie, watches. Other spectators are partly seen behind them, one holding a printed booklet at the upper left. — An old fan scoring results