#N4-007
1854
Tile print on paper. One sheet. A few worm holes, restored. Backed on paper. Near fine condition. Text in Japanese.
This kawaraban belongs to the genre known as Nihon rikishi namae, a popular Bakumatsu-era format that framed contemporary political and foreign affairs through the visual and rhetorical language of sumo wrestling. In this genre, real historical figures—particularly foreign powers and officials—were assigned sumo-style wrestler names, often humorous or allegorical, and presented in ranked lists familiar to a broad urban audience.
The sheet reports on the arrival of Commodore Matthew C. Perry (マツチウセ・ペルリ) on the 17th day of the first month of Kaei 7 (January 1854). Additional foreign and Japanese figures appear under phonetic or symbolic wrestler names, such as 雲龍 (Unryū), 荒馬 (Arama), 長谷川 (Hasegawa), 小柳 (Koyanagi), 鬼熊 (Oniguma), transforming a moment of international crisis into a legible and entertaining popular narrative.
By employing the rikishi naming system, the kawaraban simultaneously domesticates the foreign presence and satirizes geopolitical power relations, revealing how late Edo popular media mediated the shock of Western intrusion through familiar cultural frameworks.
