This year’s grand-sumo spring basho does not look like a storm. Calm, like today’s weather. Hakuho is strong.
He has recorded 33 makuuchi titles, surpassing Taiho, and is stacking wins toward a 34th this tournament. A photo exhibition tracing his path (organized by The Mainichi Newspapers and Mainichi Building) will be held March 31 (Tue)–April 11 (Sat) at Art Salon Mainichi on the first floor west of Palaceside Building. It is also one of the events marking The Mainichi Newspapers’ 50,000th issue in February. Hours 11:00–18:00 (last entry 30 minutes before close), until 16:00 on the last day. Admission free.
His actual championship portrait will be shown with it.
The portraits hang toward the Kokugikan ceiling (red circles in the photo at right). High up they do not look so large, but the real size is 3.17 meters tall by 2.265 meters wide, about 80 kilograms—quite huge. Larger than a living rikishi.
This time we specially bring in the portrait of his 33rd title at the January basho. It is still being made; visitors will see one just completed.
The building’s ceiling is not that high, so it cannot be shown upright. We will tilt it. The photos below left show a same-size dummy panel brought into the hall. It should look about like this. Up close it will have great presence.
The show will also line panel photos of Hakuho’s path and mini portraits of all 32 of his championship frames.
The Mainichi Newspapers presents the portraits; the previous two basho’s frames hang at the Kokugikan for each Tokyo tournament. The frames have writing as on the top poster (the real frame looks narrower) and hang eight each north, south, east and west—32 in all. When a new one arrives the oldest is handed in turn to the wrestler.
Portraits were once black-and-white photos colored with oil paint; Sato Suzue, who handled them for 62 years from 1951, retired, and from 2014 they became digitally processed color photographs. Precisely, they changed from “championship colored-photo portraits” to
“championship photo portraits.” Fuji Film Imaging System now makes them with the latest technology and is also a sponsor of this show. The page at right (The Mainichi Newspapers, February 7, 2013) is a two-shot of Hakuho with Sato when she visited a portrait photo session.
The run falls right in cherry season and overlaps the Chiyoda Cherry Festival, so Palaceside Building will open on Sunday, April 5, normally a closed day. Please drop by freely.