sumō-e 相撲絵

Prints of sumō 相撲 wrestlers entering the ring, locked in combat or strolling along busy streets. Together with beautiful women *bijinga 美人画 and actors *yakusha-e 役者絵, sumō wrestlers were a popular print subject throughout the Edo period, but particularly from around 1780-1800. Among the earliest prints of sumō subjects are those by Ippitsusai Bunchō 一筆斎文調 (fl. ca. 1765-92) and Isoda Koryūsai 磯田湖龍斎 (fl. mid-1760s-80s) from the 1760s-70s. Particularly realistic prints were made in the 1780s by Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (1726-93), Tōshūsai Sharaku 東洲斎写楽 (fl. 1794-5?) and Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849).