UTAGAWA KUNISATO (?-1858), triptych, color woodblock print. Japan, 1853. 'Kokugikan'.
Depicting the sumo stadium (kokugikan) in central East Edo, which today is Tokyo. Measurements attached sheets 76x37 cm. Meausrement with passepartout 99,5x70 cm. Not framed.
Discoloration. Wear to edges. Soft handling creases. Colors possibly slightly faded.
Provenance
From the Collection of Göran Flyxe.
Exhibitions
Exhibited at the Far Eastern Museum, Stockholm. “Sumo, Ritual and Art” - Japanese woodblock prints from the Göran Flyxes Collection; 29/10 2016-29/1 2017, Grafiska Galleriet, Stockholm 1 – 19/12 1973, Krognoshuset, Lund 14-30/1 1974, Norrköping Museum, Norrköping 9/6-28/7 1974, Kalmar Museum, Kalmar nov 1974, Sweden Center Bldg, Tokyo 31/5-1/6 1975, Röhsska Museet, Göteborg 9/12-23/1 1978, Galleri Asthley, Skinnskatteberg 5/6-18/7 1993, Östasiatiska Museet, Stockholm 24/12 1993-14/3 1994.
Literature
Depicted in the book "Sumo - and the Woodblock Print Masters" by Lawrence Bickford, 1994. Page 50-57.
Depicted in the book "Sumo, From rite to sport" by P.L. Cuyler, 1987, p. 71.
Depicted in "Hundra år av Sumohistoria", 1970, p.17.
More information
Japanese Sumo Wrestling is one of the oldest martial arts in Japan. Sumo wrestlers were a favorite subject on Japanese woodblock prints.
Sumo has its roots in the shinto religion. The matches were dedicated to the gods in prayers for a good harvest. The oldest written records date back to the 8th century. But it is probably more than 1500 years old.
Sumo prints from the 18th and 19th century prove the popularity of the sport in the past.