triptych print
- Museum number
- 1907,0531,0.390.1-3
- Description
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Colour woodblock-printed triptych. Pre-match procession at sumo tournament: wrestlers processing in open-air stadium; champion Inazuma accompanied by bow-bearer at ring in centre; audience in background and foreground. Signed, marked and inscribed.
- Production date
- 1796
- Dimensions
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Height: 37 centimetres (each)
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Width: 24.50 centimetres (each)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
- Smith 1988
The tournament was held at Ekoin in October 1796. The scene is a curious mixture, the recession well-handled, the wrestlers (admittedly large) shown far larger than life. The artist depicts the daily 'dohyoiri', where the senior wrestlers process into the ring in order of rank, ending with the top-rank 'yokozuna', accompanied by a sword-bearer. The wrestlers were divided into two groups - east and west. The wrestler Inazuma shown at the centre of the ring was the winner of this tournament, but he failed to reach the upper ranks and retired in 1804. The signature is 'Painted by Shun'ei'.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
2016 January –2016 April, London, BM Japanese Galleries, 'Japan from Prehistory to the Present'
2001, 30 Jan-8 Apr, BM Japanese Galleries, 'Arts of Japan: Recently repaired paintings, Ukiyo-e IV'
- Acquisition date
- 1907
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1907,0531,0.390.1-3
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: B35