Okinawa Soba, “LITTLE MISS WHALEBONE” — Female Sumo Champ (!) of Old Japan
Okinawa Soba, “LITTLE MISS BONE SAW” — Up and Coming Female Sumo Wrestler of Old Japan
Okinawa Soba, TWO GIRLS POUND HOT RICE ON “LITTLE MISS SHARK FIN” — Female Sumo Wrestler Toughens Up for the Big Match
Okinawa Soba, TOWER OF POWER — Female Sumo Wrestlers Playing Around in Old Japan
Muy impresionado estoy por las antiguas fotografías de luchadoras de sumo colgadas en Flickr por Rob Oechsle. Lo he descubierto gracias a Osamu Nomura; no sé qué haría sin él.
De acuerdo con las reglas divinas del sumo, las mujeres son consideradas impuras por la menstruación (?) y no pueden ni por asomo poner un solo pie en el dohyo. Las luchadoras de las fotografías pertenecen a alguna liga no reconocida por la Federación Oficial de Sumo y, además, hacen perfomances para la diversión de hombres babosos.
The comically erotic image surrounding women’s sumo has its roots in the past. The term “sumo” first appeared in one of Japan’s oldest historical works in reference to a wrestling match between two unclad females in the fifth century. But women’s sumo never gained the respectability bestowed upon its male counterpart. “Erotica novels from the 17th century have short references to women wrestling in the nude,” says Michihiro Nakagawa, owner of a rare books store that specializes in Edo period popular culture. “It appealed to the ero-guro (erotic/grotesque) taste of adult entertainment back then.”
In street performances that proliferated during the same period, wrestlers often were prostitutes past their prime who wrestled with blind men, sheep and each other. With male audience members jumping in to join the romp, these matches resembled more of a cross between a strip tease and a freak show than a legitimate sport.Toko Sekaguchi, An Inside Look at Shin Sumo, June 2005