Katsukawa Shunsho Sumo Wrestlers Woodblock Print Antique Japanese Ukiyo-E Decor

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Hand-printed Japanese woodblock print after the celebrated 1783 sumo composition by Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1792), one of the leading ukiyo-e artists … Read more Hand-printed Japanese woodblock print after the celebrated 1783 sumo composition by Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1792), one of the leading ukiyo-e artists of the Edo period.

The scene depicts two of the most famous sumo wrestlers of the period, Tanikaze Kajinosuke and Onogawa Kisaburō, facing one another in the ring, with referee Kimura Shōnosuke standing between them holding his gunbai fan. Tanikaze and Onogawa were among the dominant wrestlers of late-18th-century Japan and became the first two men formally promoted to the rank of yokozuna, giving this image particular importance in the history of sumo.

Shunshō was a founder of the Katsukawa school and is especially celebrated for bringing greater individuality and realism to depictions of actors and athletes. His sumo prints helped establish sumō-e as an important branch of ukiyo-e, and this composition is represented in major museum collections.

Original-period impressions of this important composition are held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Tokyo National Museum, the Smithsonian, and the Chazen Museum of Art. The Chazen impression has particularly notable provenance, having been purchased in Japan by Frank Lloyd Wright by 1925 before later entering the Van Vleck collection. The Tokyo National Museum impression was also exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in the major exhibition Edo: Art in Japan 1615–1868.

Likely an antique early restrike or recut woodblock edition, the print retains the original Japanese inscriptions identifying the wrestlers and referee, Shunshō's 春章画 signature, and the publisher's mark. Framed in Japan and bearing an old Kanda's Gallery B-O-Q, Tokyo label on the reverse.

An attractive early hand-printed edition of one of the most recognizable and historically significant sumo images of the Edo period. Visible age toning, scattered foxing and surface wear consistent with age; please see photographs for condition. Not examined out of frame.

24.5"W x 18.75"H (frame)

19.5"W x 14.25"H (sight) See less