Spring Sumo Tournament Kokugi Hall (Harubasho no Kokugikan)

Artist Koizumi Kishio

Printerprinted by Koizumi Kishio

DateJanuary 1935

Mediumwoodblock print; ink and color on paper

Dimensions39.2 x 30 cm (15 7/16 x 11 13/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineHarriet B. Bancroft Fund

Terms

Object number1998.67

DescriptionThe tower behind the gate of the Kokugikan, the huge ferroconcrete Sumo stadium, resembles those from which the twice-yearly tournaments on the grounds of Ekoin Temple near the Ry5goku Bridge in Hiroshige's Edo were heralded. Occurring near the bustling Ry6goku entertainment area, those tournaments were performed in the open air; the fluttering bonten (white flags) announced clear weather, indicating that a match would be held. These customs continued to be observed even when the highly traditional sport moved indoors. In the late Meiji period, Sum6 enjoyed unprecedented popularity, which was sustained in the years before and after the Great Kant6 Earthquake. The Kokugikan, built in 1919 after a fire destroyed the-late-Meiji-period building, was badly damaged in 1923, but money for repairs poured in. It was reconstructed on the same site at the Ekoin, east of the Sumida River in the Ryogoku area.
This enormous sports arena is a reflection of the mass culture that developed in Tokyo in the years after World War I. In Edo the biggest Sumo wrestling tournament drew only a few hundred spectators. In the Taish6 and early Sh6wa periods, though, crowds filled this great hall. Baseball, meanwhile, was drawing even greater numbers.

ProvenancePurchase from Geoffrey Oliver, East-West Gallery, 27 Main St., Victor, NY 14564

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