Long before Andy Warhol produced his infamous silk-screen prints of Marilyn Monroe, artists during Japan's Edo period were creating woodblock prints of the supreme sumo wrestlers of the day.
The Museum of Fine Arts' "Sumo: Japan's Big Sport" exhibit is an eclectic collection of prints, collectors' items and a televised sumo match, glorifying this famed sport in Japan.
Sumo wrestling is a long-standing tradition in Japan, deeply rooted in ritual practices associated with the Shinto religion and imperialism. Sumo wrestling was a favorite of the samurai who participated in matches organized by city officials to cut down on street fighting. Sumo wrestling was also a form of entertainment for many people who collected the commercially produced prints of this exhibit.
The woodblock prints in this collection are a prime example of the technical skill and mastery needed to produce such works. Artists designed the image and printers carved the design into wood pieces and applied each color separately. The prints' colors are beautifully preserved; they retain their brilliance and incredible detail. The images themselves vary from individual portraits of champion wrestlers to depictions of famous fights, leisure activities and Kabuki thespians acting out the great sumo wrestling dramas of the time.
Each print contains bold characteristics contributing to its appealing aesthetic: The thick black lines, comical expressions of the figures and stylized depictions make them very desirable as mass-produced sumo paraphernalia.
Some images are fanciful, such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi's "Kobayashi Asahina and Strange People from Foreign Lands" (1836), which details a fight of fantasy. Mythical beings, dog-headed people and giants all take part in this legendary sport, the message being that sumo wrestling is universally popular, practiced and enjoyed by even the beasts of bizarre worlds.
Others pieces are akin to Japanese tabloids - a famous 373-pound wrestler poses with his graceful wife in "Sumo Wrestler Tanikaze and Naniwaya Okita" (1794), a piece by Katsukawa Shunch??. Some of the prints simply depict these men in their everyday lives, eating together, practicing or having tea. The physical talent of these large athletes propelled them to superstar status among the sumo enthusiasts in Japan in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The gems of this collection are the humorous and often amusing prints. In "Shimada Station: The ?i River (Shimada no eki ?igawa)," from the series "53 Pairings for the T??kaid?? Road (T??kaid?? goj?»san tsui)" (1845), a famous wrestler is seated on a platform while several porters carry him across the ?i river during his journey through the 53 official way stations on Tokaido Road. The look on the faces of these men is priceless; they grimace under the incredible weight of the large celebrity who they must safely get across the shore.
Each of the wrestlers featured in these prints was recognizable to fans during the Edo period due to unique facial expressions or details. In "Shimada Station" in particular, artist Utagawa Kunisada I depicts the wrestler holding sumptuous smoking accessories, which confirm that he is none other than the renowned Koyanagi.
Though the prints vary in terms of subject matter, they all celebrate this popular sport and its long tradition of ritualism, religion and imperialism. The pieces merit appreciation for both their artistic qualities and the entertainment value they provide.
