Hiroshige (1797 - 1858)
Ekō-in Temple Precincts, Ryogoku including the Kokugikan Sumo Arena, 1832-34
Tankei (Inoue Yasuji) 1864 - 89
Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Ryogoku, 1889
Sumo-e by Yoshitoshi
(Author's Collection)
Original photograph of Wajima, the fifty-fourth yokozuna.
(A B Japan Collection)
The Material Culture of Sumo
Of course, material culture relating to this ancient sport begins far earlier: prehistoric cave paintings have been found in Japan which appear to depict a kind of ritualistic wrestling; from the Kofun period there exist several examples of haniwa(clay figures) which depict wrestlers, recognisable as such by any contemporary sumo fan; and from Japan’s earliest recorded histories there can be found mention of the names of rikishi.
Sumo developed through succeeding periods first as a spectacle for the Heian court, and later as a symbol of martial prowess in the age of samurai, but ultimately the sumo of today was formalised around the end of the Warring States Period and the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate alongside its capital, Edo.
Wrestler (Haniwa) 5th – 6th C. Kofun Period
(Art Institute Chicago)
Shunsho (1726 - 93)
East Side: Wrestlers Kuretayama and Izumigawa Rin'emon, 1783-84
Shunko 1743 - 1812
Sumo Match Between Onogawa Kisaburo (Shiga) and Musashina Konai (Saitama), 1789
Kuniyoshi (1798 - 1861)
Sumo Wrestler Nuregami Chogoro, 1845
Woodblock Print
During the so-called Edo period, sumo was one of “The Three Great Pleasures of Edo”. Alongside kabuki theatre, and the Yoshiwara “pleasure quarters”, sumo featured prominently in popular prints by the likes of Shunsho, Shun’ei, Shunko, as well as artists from the Utagawa school such as Kuniyoshi.
The emphasis in the majority of these works is the rikishi themselves, something that continued with the advent of photography – and evident in my sumo picture postcards which visually echo earlier woodblock prints.
Vintage rikishi postcard
(A B Japan Collection)
Kuniaki (1835-1888)
Woodblock Print
(A B Japan Collection)
Hiroshige’s Ekō-in
Ekō-in has a fascinating history, particularly in relation to sumo, and both Hiroshige’s and Tankei’s triptychs provide fascinating insights into this history…
The temple was founded in 1657 in the wake of one of the most devastating disasters in Japanese history. The Great Fire of Meireki, as the disaster came to be known, blazed through Edo for three days, destroying approximately three-quarters of the city and killing over 100,000 people. The shogun at the time gave orders to raise a monument to the victims of the fire, especially those who had no relatives to pray for them.
In this way, Ekō-in was founded, and it gained popularity over the years, not least because the Meireiki fire was certainly not the last to ravage Edo. However, with popularity the temple needed to expand. Financing this was largely possible through “fundraising sumo tournaments”, known as kanjin-sumo, which the shogunate permitted on the grounds of shrines and temples. While Ekō-in was not the first temple to host sumo – the first tournament held there was in 1768 – it soon became the most popular. By 1833 it had effectively gained a monopoly on sumo in Edo, and its yearly spring and autumn tournaments became specifically sanctioned basho in the shogun’s capital.
With Hiroshige’s print created around the time of this official designation, it is tempting to see it as a direct response to an important moment in sumo’s history. Dating the print exactly proves tricky, however, and it is difficult even to ascertain whether it is the spring or the autumn basho that has been depicted here. The mists which feature across the triptych are associated with both seasons. Similarly, the bare branches on certain trees might indicate that their leaves have already fallen or otherwise have yet to grow again.
Regardless, Hiroshige’s print wonderfully depicts the hustle and bustle of an Ekō-in sumo tournament.
On the right-hand sheet of the triptych, there stands the drum tower with white flags flying to mark the occasion. Hiroshige depicted the Ekō-in drum tower again in his One Hundred Famous Views of Edo – his print from that series framing it with Mt. Fuji in the background.
On the centre sheet, we have the magnificent reed structure, constructed twice a year for the sumo. The dohyō (ring), the rikishi, and the spectators are all concealed from us by the roofing, but Hiroshige cleverly lures in our imaginations by leaving one of the doors open. Thanks to amazingly detailed records we can actually speculate on which great rikishi may have been fighting in this very space. For instance, we know that during the spring basho in 1833, seventh yokozunaInazuma Raigorō was unofficial champion with a perfect 9-0 record. Outside the arena, stalls line the main throughfare leading to the temple’s main hall, and vendors ply their wares to the throng of visitors here to see the sumo.
On the left sheet, we find the heart of the temple complex, and with it a reminder that, despite the great commotion that comes with the sumo, this remains a holy place. Pilgrims – recognisable by their straw hats – can be seen heading in the direction of the grand Buddha statue and the steps leading to the main hall.
Tankei’s Ekō-in
It is a fascinating exercise comparing Hiroshige’s print with Tankei’s, published over fifty years later in the middle of the Meiji Era in 1889. We have basically the same composition: an aerial view of the temple precincts – drum tower on the right, main hall on the left, sumo arena in the centre – only in Tankei’s print the arena has been expanded onto all three sheets. This is perhaps a reflection of sumo’s popularity in the later stages of the nineteenth century, and with it the growing demand for a bigger arena...
This hadn’t always been the case, in the later decades of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the popularity of sumo had waned. One particularly damning moment came when Commodore Perry arrived with his “black ships” and two of Japan’s finest rikishi were carted out to perform their ancient martial art to an underwhelmed American navy.
The decline only worsened in the early years of the Meiji period, many daimyo who had sponsored sumo no longer had the means to do so, and with Westernisation the name of the game many became embarrassed by this “backward relic”. The Emperor put a halt to this by lending his Imperial support, organising a tournament in 1884. This print, published five years later, reveals how effective this was in reversing sumo’s fortunes.
Ekō-in had played host to the Edo / Tokyo tournaments all the while and continued to do so until a purpose-built national sumo arena, the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, was completed in 1909.
Tankei’s print therefore captures sumo at Ekō-in in its final golden age. In many ways little has changed from Hiroshige’s day. The drum tower and its white flags still hover over kimono-clad visitors flocking through the temple’s main gates, and although the arena here is roofless it is still very much a two-story temporary structure.
There are glimpses, though, of encroaching modernity: a horse-drawn carriage has pulled up outside the temple gates, and here and there men in Western suits are strolling about.
A Nineteenth-Century Sumo Arena in the Twenty-First Century
Despite sumo itself being saved from modernity, the temporary structures at Ekō-in, which had housed the sport for centuries, were not so lucky – they became a victim of sumo’s resurgent popularity. In 1909, the steel-domed Ryōgoku Kokugikan became sumo’s new home, and ever since basho have been contested in structures of varying attractiveness but all of twentieth and twenty-first century construction.
Those looking to see sumo fought in a nineteenth-century structure again might be in luck, but you will have to travel somewhere rather surprising: The Royal Albert Hall in London. For only the second time, following its first venture outside Japan in 1991, sumo returns to the Royal Albert Hall this autumn. Tickets have already gone on sale, and I’m very pleased to say I managed to get hold of some – before it had sold out.
The Grand Sumo Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall will take place 15 – 19 October 2025
To those not able to scrounge a ticket or make the trip, I can highly recommend these two wonderful triptychs as consolation. With glorious compositions and surprising details, the prints by Hiroshige and Tankei provide truly rare insights into the history of sumo and its spiritual home at the Ekō-in Temple.
About the Author: Alexander Ballingal
In 2024, I graduated with a first-class MA in Japanese from the University of Edinburgh. I am continuing my studies with a postgraduate course at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London focusing on Japanese and Korean art. I aim to pursue a life-long career in this field.
Thank you again to Richard and Doug for this fantastic opportunity, and please feel free to reach out via my Instagram @a.b.japancollection or email alexanderballingal@gmail.com with any comments or queries.