The Sumō Wrestler Umegatani Tōtarō

月岡芳年 Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

1839–1892

The Sumō Wrestler Umegatani Tōtarō, 1891, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 333 x 224 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 375 x 252 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 1/8 x 8 13/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 3/4 x 9 15/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Lucy Shaw Schultz Fund

Accession number: 1997.0019

Not on display

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Sacred Space and Japanese Art at the Spencer Museum of Art

This color woodcut print shows the highest-ranking sumo wrestler (yokozuna) at the time, Umegatani Tōtarō (center), posing in his ceremonial belt (mawashi). It was created by popular ukiyo-e artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and published as a supplement to the daily newspaper Yamato Shinbun. As mentioned in the text in the upper cartouche of the picture, Umegatani was the head of a group of sumo wrestlers who fought before the Meiji Emperor in 1888. The history of sumo goes back to the age of Japanese mythology and this form of wrestling continues to be performed as an important part of Shinto ritual, most notably as an indicator of the annual rice crop. The twisted straw rope and white paper ribbons around Umegatani’s mawashi are the same as those used at Shinto shrines, which denote sacred or purified space. The woven straw border of the ring (part of which can be seen on the left-hand side of the print) is a replacement of real straw rice bags that used to be placed around the ring. Regarded as a sacred space, the ring (dohyō) is purified with salt, which wrestlers toss into the ring each time before they fight. Controversially, women are prohibited from touching and entering the dohyō even today. Text by Masaaki Morishita

Archive Label 2003: Although sumo wrestling had been an integral part of Japanese life for many centuries—even playing an important role in the activities of the Heian period (797-1185) imperial court—it did not appear as a subject for ukiyo-e until the 1780’s. Sumo took on a commercial nature as people began wagering on their favorite wrestlers, and the popularity of the sport led to demands for wrestlers’ portraits. Here Yoshitoshi, one of the last great designers of woodblock prints, portrays the wrestler Umegatani Totaro. Totaro is performing the ceremony of entering the ring or dohyo-iri. He wears a ceremonial fringed apron embroidered with a coat of arms. The rope girdle with hanging gihei indicates that he is of the highest rank. Two attendants flank him to the rear. The inscription is a condensed version of Totaro’s biography. Archive Label date unknown: The sport of sumo wrestling holds a long and important place in Japan's history, with ties to the country's Shintō religion and Heian-era (794-1185) imperial court traditions. Images fo sumo began to appear in the 1780s, when Katsukawa Shunshō introduced portraits of contmeporary wrestlers and created a demand for prints of these popular celebreties. In this newspaper special supplement, Umegatani Tōtarō poses in the stylized ritual for entering a competition ring. The inscription above gives a condensed biography of the sumo star, whose costume indicates that he is a grand champion.