Two-panel screen depicting wrestlers
Object Details
- Label
- Pairs of wrestlers in a walled courtyard engage in practice bouts of sumo, the ancient Japanese form of wrestling that became a professional sport early in the Edo period (1615-1868), when this screen was painted. Still practiced today as Japan's most famous national sport, sumo has a history of some two thousand years, and formal matches retain many of the rituals established in ancient times.
- Observed from a slightly elevated building, wrestlers ranging from youths to mature contenders practice the holds, rushes, and throws that determine the winner in sumo matches. The objective in a match is to force the opponent to touch the ground or to push him outside the rope marking the boundary of the circular ring. A judge in the foreground carefully watches one match as a wrestler is about to be thrown to the ground. This screen provides a realistic view of sumo training in the seventeenth century, as young wrestlers drawn mainly from rural communities prepare for this rigorous sport.
- Provenance
- To 1903
- Bunkio Matsuki (1867-1940), Boston, to 1903 [1]
- From 1903 to 1919
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunkio Matsuki in 1903 [2]
- From 1920
- Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]
- Notes:
- [1] See Original Screen List, L. 70, pg. 18, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
- [2] See note 1.
- [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Games, Contests and Artful Play in Japan (March 19 to October 23, 2005)
- Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Bunkio Matsuki 松木文恭 (1867-1940) (C.L. Freer source)
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- 17th century
- Period
- Edo period
- Accession Number
- F1903.100
- Restrictions & Rights
- CC0
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Color and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (overall): 170 x 178 cm (66 15/16 x 70 1/16 in)
- Origin
- Japan
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Topic
- Edo period (1615 - 1868)
- sport
- Japan
- ukiyo-e
- Japanese Art
- Charles Lang Freer collection
- Record ID
- fsg_F1903.100
