THE CRAZE FOR BANZUKE (ranking charts) IN 19th CENTURY JAPAN

CATCHING up on SUMO

To win a bout the fighter (Rikishi or Sumotori) needs to push his opponent out of the circular sumo ring or to make some part of his body touch the ground, except the soles of his feet, of course.

Sumo professionals are ranked in several divisions. They may go up or down a rank after each tournament (Basho) according to their numbers of victories. Until the 19th century, there were 4 ranks in the first division: Ozeki 大関, Sekiwake 関脇, Komusubi 小結 and Maegashira 前頭, from the top down. Yokozuna was an honorific rank which has become the top rank of active Rikishi later.

Organization and ranking of the Rikishi was important to ensure success and fairness of the tournaments. They were trained and coached in stables, and experienced professional referees were instrumental in directing bouts and revising ranks before each new tournament.

Once Rikishis have been selected in each division and ranked for the next Basho, official announcement is made to the public.

This is achieved through the production of a ranking chart in flyers or posters, the Banzuke-hyo 番付表, or Banzuke, using specific to Sumo bold Negishi-style lettering. Lettering is bigger for the top division and smaller for lower ones. The Sumo Banzuke woodblock print has been designed in 3 vertical sections since the 18th century.

The top of the center section presents the Basho formally following Shinto tradition. In the center below are given the location, dates and duration of the tournament, the names of the referees, of various officials and of the coaching staff.  Participants are assigned to the right (East) or left (West) section of the Banzuke by the referees in such a balanced way that the distribution of Rikishi rank-wise is identical in the two sections.

At the same ranking however, an East section ranked sumotori is expected by the referees to be a bit better than his West section counterpart. Correspondingly, the ring has an East and a West entrance. When entering the ring, an East section sumotori uses the East entrance except when the bout opposes two East fighters, when the lower ranked one enters in the West. This East-West difference might have its roots in Japanese mythology and with the fact that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West…

The woodblock below is the printed Banzuke proof of what appeared to be a minor Basho. At this stage, the Banzuke was not dated, and Rikishis could not be identified. Fortunately, the name of the referee in the middle was 式守卯之助 Shikimori Unosuke, the hereditary name of a famous sumo referee active between 1872 and 1874. The typical layout of the Sumo Banzuke is shown with the category of  information contained in each section.  Of course, contents are to be read in columns.

HOW did SUMO BANZUKE look like ?

The two sumo banzuke below complete each other to present and describe two successive 1879 Basho to be held in what is now the Okayama prefecture.

Overall, the center sections  stated that permission was obtained 御免, according to the Shinto tradition of apologizing to the priests for the inconvenience of using the shrine premises for the Basho. Then the date, location and duration were given: 明治十二年 12th - Rabbit - Year of Meiji, in 卯三月上旬 late March and mid-April, at 鹿忍晴天二日 Shikano (name of village) under good weather or rain and for two days! On the left banzuke and below are the names of the three referees,行司,　 木村助徳 Kimura Suketoku, 木村喜助 Kimura Kisuke and 木村寅市 Kimura Toraichi. Finally, the name of the organizer 仁王山久吉  Noiōzan Hisakichi, and the names of the caretakers 世話人  were at the bottom of the center section.

The most important obervation to be made at this point  is that the overall layout of the sumo banzuke with the three vertical sections and the ranks of Rikishis in the columns of the East and West sections has been reproduced in all ranking charts of sumo up to now.

BANZUKE  beyond SUMO ?

Some time in the 19th century, posters ranking a large variety of items ( crafts, business, flowers, onsens, restaurants, drugstores, earthquakes, shrines…) were produced with the same layout as Sumo Banzuke : they were organized in three vertical sections, sometimes subdivided; the first line was the rank written sumo-style (大関, 関脇,小結 and 前頭), but the ranked items had nothing to do with sumo. It seems it became fashionable to rank about everything.

We do not know how and why this craze for Banzuke emerged…and any information will be welcome!

First example is concerning JAPANESE PROVINCES

To illustrate this production, you will find some classical examples below, covering only a very small fraction of this Banzuke flowering, however.

The first one is the ranking record of the “Prosperity of the Various Provinces of Great Japan”  drawn in 1882 by  Yoshimura  and published in Osaka by Tanaka Yasujiro. It follows strictly the classical Sumo Banzuke layout.  In the top division, the East (orange) and West (green) sections of the Banzuke include Provinces from all over Japan, as shown in the map.

Here, Province plays a role analogous to that of Rikishi, and Distance to Edo replaces Sumo hometown of Sumo Banzuke.  Provinces and towns within province are assigned to some of the 5 divisions of the Banzuke. The lettering gets smaller as the division is lower. In the spirit of Sumo Banzuke, the center section of this ranking chart lists a series of « referees ».

The 2 first refeeres are the provinces of Settsu (Osaka) and Musashi (Edo) because they are by far the most prosperous ones and stand out. The other refeeres are famous shrines or temples (Ise, Nikko, Daisafuji and  Kamakura). The detailed results for the 4 best  provinces in each region are given next.

But, whereas Sumo rankings result from numbers of successes and defeats, what is the rationale behind this ranking of provinces? We do not know. Can you help?

And what about ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES?

More art-oriented  Banzuke were published for flowers, for artists, etc.

The next two examples show a Banzuke for iris and a Banzuke for the income of Kabuki artists.

The first one (1875) keeps the Sumo ranking, but has a more original layout with some plants on top.

In the Kabuki actor banzuke, the crests of the Kabuki actors replaces Hometown of the Rikishi. You will notice the crest (Mon) of the famous Ichikawa family of famous Kabuki stars, which is the triple rice measure (mimasu) viewed from above.

The second one ranks the flowers from the famous Horikiri Shobuen garden which had 6000 iris from 200 varieties.

And what about WEALTH?

The lists of wealthy people were also very popular, and various types of ranking standings (Mitate Banzuke) were published regionally or nationally.  

In the Banzuke below on Edo wealth, the rankings list both Echigoya and Shirokiya (today's Mitsukoshi and Tōkyū department stores) as promoters. In the central section, the referees include Mitani Sankuro, a money changer in Edo, and the names of the ranked wealthy people include many rice brokers. There are four divisions of wealthy people in this Banzuke.

And what about HEALTH?

Health was important to the Japanese people, and many Banzuke were produced on this subject. Hot springs (onsen) were very popular for their relaxing and therapeutic qualities and they were often evaluated during the Edo period. On the other hand, a sudden outbreak of disease could trigger the production of a new disease Banzuke at some specific time.

WHO are the WORST PEOPLE?

When Japan opened itself to foreign trade again, Japanese people were very anxious to know more about foreigners, and many woodblocks were printed on all facets of their everyday life. This Banzuke is rather surprising as it is devoted  to ranking quarrels and slanders between 60 provinces of Japan (East section) and 6 Occidental countries. It retains the Sumo ranking on the top line, with 4 divisions in the East and West sections, but the bottom of the Banzuke represents the faces of the “Barbarians” from (left to right) France, England, America (plus a Nanking Chinese!),  Russia and Holland, the main foreign traders in Japan.

A CRAZY END !

Finally, the anonymous satirical 1892 woodblock below is titled “Looking for the hard to see places of the floating world”. Its design was influenced by both western culture and traditional Japan.

The banner which says “Meiji 25th Year  Revised New Edition” is carried by two occidental looking cherubs, whereas the layout of the three sections with 5 divisions is clearly banzuke-like. 

In the top line,  Sumo ranks are replaced by a list of poor behaviours (see below). Yet, headings (red frames) in the center section of the print follow sumo usage.

It is difficult to make sense of the contents under each heading (yellow frames)  as well as in the columns as they range from poetic to weird or downright crazy!

What is being joked upon here, the Sumo Banzuke fashion or Society?

It is quite difficult to understand the intent of the anonymous (for self protection from the authorities maybe) artist, but it is clear that it gives a pessimistic, hopefully exaggerated and satirical view of society.

Who would have bought this woodblock print at the time?