Comment - Scene of a sumo wrestler child, holding a large Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") with a white kanji character ("ji tako", "字凧") on a light blue background. His left fist holds the bridle lines, while his right hand holds a kite line spool. The thick rope encircling his sandals belongs to the kite tail. His colourful kimono is decorated with emblems and toys (goldfish, toy dog, Daruma figure, dove etc.). He is obviously a unusually obese, tall, and strong child sumo fighter.

At the sumo wrestlers of the Edo era, there was a box office that gathered giants and "monsters" from the provinces and allowed to exhibit disabled or deformed persons . Oniwaka Rikinosuke (鬼若 力之助) is one of them. His name "Oniwaka" alludes to his features (literally "seems to be a monster"). He was from Kazusa Kunitake County (presently, Chiba Prefecture Sanmu-shi). It was in November, 1850 when Oniwaka walked on the first ring as a "monster" wrestler. It is written that the when he participated in the ring entering ceremony (dohyo-iri), he was eight years old, then had a quadrilateral 121 cm length of body feature, and 68 kg body weight. Many of these children's wrestlers retired without becoming regular wrestlers afterwards, but Oniwaka entered in March of Meiji 5 in makuuchi league, where he used his entering ceremony stage name until 1854. Afterwards, Oniwaka entered professional Sumo as 'Katsunoura Yoichiemon' (Katsunoura Yoichi migi e-mon, 勝ノ浦与一右エ門) with the highest achieved sumo rank as 'Eastern Front Lead (Azuma zentō hittō, 東前頭筆頭). Oniwaka retired in 1883.


Series - ~


Artist - see Biography


Signature - "Kôchôrô Kunisada ga" ("香蝶楼国貞画") with circular otoshidama seal, as well as circular censors seal and cutters seal


Publisher -Yamamotoya Heikichi (山本平吉), Eikyūdō publisher's (栄久堂)


Image Size - 36.2cm X 25.1cm  (14 1/4" x 9 7/8")


Condition - nishiki-e (cloured woodblock); Vertical ôban (ôban tate-e);