Parade of Sumo Wrestlers
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Description
The dohyo-iri, or ring-entering procession of sumo wrestlers, was one of the great spectacles of Edo public life, and Kuniyoshi documents it here with characteristic attention to the wrestlers' massive physiques and the pageantry of their ceremonial aprons (kesho-mawashi). The parade format allowed him to arrange figures rhythmically across the sheet, each wrestler individualized in size and bearing. Sumo imagery occupied a particular niche in ukiyo-e, celebrating the sport as a vehicle for ideals of strength and masculine pride.
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c. 1830
Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
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Frequently Asked Questions
Parade of Sumo Wrestlers was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
Parade of Sumo Wrestlers depicts sumo.