Shohei Ohtani - Japanese BBM 2013 1st Version "Wing" Rookie Cards
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Shohei Ohtani is having another great year and I thought it might be a good idea to dust this post off and update it slightly for accuracy. Ohtani's Japanese rookie cards often get overlooked or ignored by many collectors because of the difficulty in understanding the Japanese baseball card market.  BBM, much like Topps, is the dominate company distributing baseball cards in Japan and has been producing baseball cards since 1991.  There are numerous other collectors out there that are much more knowledgeable than me on Japanese baseball cards, but I wanted to highlight Ohtani's first ..read more
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H553: 1955 Ranga 9 Sumo Wrestling Brick/Slammer Set!
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Many years ago I discovered this 1955 Renga 9 set...probably at least 10-12 years ago at this point...and they are so rare that I never knew there was an actual variation with this set.  The backs come in two different ink colors: brown and blue.  Finding any menko from this set is tough, now there are variations I'll have to chase.  Aside from the back variations, this specific H553 set is gorgeous on the front...gold ink makes the images pop off the cardboard and adds to their quality and rarity.  Featuring almost all the top-ranked wrestlers from 1955, it has and early c ..read more
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1983-1 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Playing Card Set
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
I just did a video of this 1981-3 Japanese Sumo Wrestling Playing Trump Card Set over on my YouTube channel, but wanted to highlight a few more details here.  The Japanese word for playing cards is Trump or トランプ.  I'm sure there is a background on why it is called "trump"...probably was borrowed from another language. I really like these trump sets as they feature a lot of wrestlers that really only ever got cards in these sets.  A brief history...these continued to be printed today, but started in 1973.  They usually came out one set per year (except in 2012 when t ..read more
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Definitive Overview of Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards & Menko
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
One of my 2022 goals is to do a better job of tying in my blogging content to my YouTube content.  I know YouTube might turn some of you off, but since about October 2021 I've been exploring the video medium for getting some of my Japanese sumo wrestling card and menko content out there.  However, I still do enjoy writing and so wanted to wrap together video and written content on occasion.  Recently I was able to publish my 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko & Card Checklist and it has been well-received.  After about 5 years, it was time to publish a new edition. One thi ..read more
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YouTube Channel - SumoMenkoMan - All Things Sumo Cards.
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Sorry it has been almost 8 weeks since I last posted...in reality I've been exploring the new medium of "posting" over on YouTube and learning a bit more on what it takes to produce video content so that has been eating up most of my time.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and a video worth ten thousand words....I'm able to do a bit more with sumo cards over there than just pictures and written words on this end.  So for now, still on a bit of a hiatus, but if anyone is interested in the video-related sumo card content my video can been see on the SumoMenkoMan channel ..read more
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Telephone Time - Sumo Wrestling - 1995 Kyushu Supporters Association Set
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Supporters Groups have a long and important history in sumo wrestling.  They often supply sumo wrestlers and stables a valuable and needed flow of money to cover costs associated with the sport.  Costs for travel, uniforms, food, and supplies quickly add up and are difficult to cover by the stable master or wrestlers alone.  These Supporter Groups help keep sumo wrestling running smoothly in exchange for the wrestlers time at various functions, parties and events.  This Kyushu Supporters Association set was made in the 1995/1996 timeframe and either sold to members or given ..read more
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Telephone Time - 1999 Osaka Tournament Souvenir Telephone Cards
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
When I moved to Japan in 1999 telephone cards were still used and I used to to carry numerous ones around with me in case I needed to make calls while I was out and about.  By the time I left in 2001 cell phones had hit the scene and were all the rage pretty much phasing out phone booths and pay phones.  But in 1999, people were still collecting phone cards like this sumo set I came across recently.  It's an interesting set with some heavy hitters (pun intended).  Yokozuna Wakanohana (the other half of the famous Hanada Brothers), Ozeki Chiyotaikai, and Maegashira Terao are ..read more
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My 2021 National Recap
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
What a weekend spent in Chicago at The 2021 National.  One of my bucket list items for quite a while...I was actually on my way to The National 10 years ago when a family emergency forced me to turn around and miss the event.  Didn't miss it this time and had a great and amazing experience.  There are dozens and dozens of other collector reports of The National and I thought I'd also post my thoughts here of my Saturday and Sunday experience. 1. The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is huge.  It took my brother and I 12 hours to walk and look at every single booth while ..read more
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Bigger is better---Oversized 1938 Japanese Sumo Menko
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Large menko are cool....not only because of their large size, but because you very rarely see them.  When you hold one you know you are holding something special because it took a small miracle for it to survive.  It had to survive wars, moms cleaning out rooms, storage in small Japanese homes, and ruthless menko battles.  So when I ran across this "large" set, I knew I needed to hold them, checklist them, and catalogue them.  They are pretty cool, not doubt, and the photographs and print quality are second to none for the era.  These R3811: 1938 Rikishi Large 7-8 menk ..read more
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Caricatures are fun...especially with sumo wrestlers!
Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko
by SumoMenkoMan
2y ago
Caricatures are always good time at fairs and carnivals.  I am always amazed by how quickly and relatively accurately artists are able to develop and draw these out for patrons.  I am not artistic so I always applaud and admire people who are.  Did you know some of the earliest caricatures were done by Leonardo da Vinci?  Makes sense since he was such a brilliant engineer and really used the right side of his brain to the betterment of a whole generation of artists, engineers, scientists, and craftsman.  Anyway, I digress....we are talking caricatures because of this s ..read more
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