Daimon Kinoshita - 大関四人衆 (Four "Ozeki" Sumo Wrestlers)

A fabulous woodblock print by Daimon Kinoshita: 大関四人衆 (Four Ozeki Sumo Wrestlers). Four immense rikishi are depicted in half-length portrait, their faces intent and focused as they lean in toward the broadcast monitor - watching the TV screen from the shittaku-beya (preparation room). Each wears patterned yukata, their broad shoulders and stern profiles crowding the frame in a powerful grouping. 💪🏯

• Year & Edition: 1985 onward · Published by 京都版画院 (Kyoto Hanga-In). Carved by 久我周二 (Kuga Shuji). Printed by 栃木義郎 (Tochigi Yoshiro). Margin inscriptions include “不許按製” (rights), 財団法人 日本相撲協会 (Japan Sumo Association), and copyright seals, with Kinoshita’s “Daimon” and edition seals below.
  
• Medium: Woodblock.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet W: 27.00 cm × H: 41.00 cm.
  
• Condition: Wonderfully stored; strong, beautiful colours, paper crisp & intact.
  
• Notes: Research shows the wrestlers may be: Hokuten’yū Katsuhiko (北天佑 勝彦), Asashio Tarō IV (朝潮 太郎), Wakashimazu Mutsuo (若嶋津 六夫), and Kotokaze Kōki (琴風 豪規), all of whom dominated the dohyo in the 1980s. Daimon Kinoshita comments on his website (www.daimon-e.sakura.ne.jp): 「支度部屋でモニターＴＶをみている４大関。江戸時代にもなかった。」(“Four Ozeki watching the monitor TV in the preparation room. A composition that did not exist in the Edo period.”)

About the Artist

Born in Hokkaidō in 1946, Daimon Kinoshita is Japan’s foremost contemporary artist of sumo nishiki-e (錦絵). Since 1985 he has worked closely with the Japan Sumo Association, using authentic Edo-period ukiyo-e techniques and the traditional hanmoto system of artist, carver, and printer. His woodblock prints bring Yokozuna, Ōzeki, and rikishi to life in bold ceremonial portraits, often depicting the dohyō-iri (土俵入り) ring-entrance with mica (kirazuri) details that echo Edo traditions. Sold at the Kokugikan arena and presented to visiting dignitaries, Kinoshita’s works combine beauty, craft, and cultural significance, keeping the art of nishiki-e alive in the modern age. [ ← View All Works by Daimon Kinoshita]