Boys sumo wrestling

Two young boys engage in a sumo wrestling match in front of a mound sprouting autumnal bush clover and miscanthus grass. They wear tie-dyed or red loincloths wrapped to resemble the mawashi worn by professional wrestlers. Behind them, a boy umpire who has stripped down to his gray and red bib (haragake) gestures with a folding fan. His “poppy” (keshi) hairstyle is associated with children of three or four years of age.
Along with the auspicious subject matter of boys growing up plump and strong, this print contains Kabuki-related imagery. The “three measures” (mimasu) crest on the fan is associated with the Ichikawa Danjūrō actor lineage, known for the swashbuckling acting style known as aragoto (literally, “rough stuff ”). The spiral pattern (Kamezō komon) on the bib is one made popular by the contemporary Kabuki actor Ichimura Kamezō (Ichimura Uzaemon IX).
Harunobu produced at least five different compositions of sumo wrestling boys. This is the only known impression of this print, which originally had a gradient blue sky colored with fleeting dayflower pigment. It is closest in composition to a print found in the British Museum and other collections.