Finally, atlhetes with my body type!

Let's face it...thin and athletic are not terms used to describe me. When I say I'm someone's biggest fan, I mean that literally :) I don't have an athlete's build.

But there's one sport...one sport where that's not quite the case.

Sumo wresting!

I like to get different cards, from different subjects. I used to be an NBA and NASCAR only collector, but I've expanded my horizons and have had a lot of fun doing it.

Well, I had no idea that sumo wrestling got cards until I met Ryan Laughton, aka SumoMenkoMan, writer of the blog Japanese Sumo Wresting Cards and Menko. To be honest, I had never heard heard the word Menko before I began reading his blog. He helped me get boxes of both series of the BBM B-League basketball card set, and I had asked him at one point if he had a sumo card he could spare as I didn't have the sport represented in my collection.

Did he ever!

All the cards you see here are Sumo cards! Except the car cards, which are great...and from a set I can't identify. I had to recreate the picture as I can't find the original I took when the box first arrived-quite a while ago now, as I've been so very far behind/backlogged. Also included were some neat little Japanese car books but I forgot to include them in the photo.

I was hoping for 1 but as you can see it's far, far more than that!

Unfortunately for me, the cards are almost entirely in Japanese, which I cannot read, no matter how hard I try to match up letters to guides. So I can't really build checklists of these sets to post to the Database- I think I can get the names of the wrestlers, but since I'm not sure, I don't know how to proceed.
But here are 6 cards that I chose as a general overview of the very few I've taken out of the box so far.

 Odd how the label of the match is in English while the rest is in Japanese.

 If I'm reading the back of the card correctly, this man was the top wrestler from 1922-31.

 Interesting pattern on his uniform. I wonder what it looked like in color? Although labeled after WWII if I am reading the back correctly he was the top wrestler from 1944-51.

 I'm not sure why they do the salt thing, but it's iconic of the sport.

 I had no idea you could choke your opponent.

Isn't that Arnold from Happy Days?

Here's a card back:

I have no idea what it says, but this is the back of the Good Match of 1998. I don't even know if it lists his name somewhere or if that is a location or title in English, so I'm pretty clueless. Considering how happy he looks in the portrait on the back I'm assuming that he's the winner.

While I don't think I'm going to take up wresting Sumo, you will see some sumo cards again next year, I'm saving the rest of the box for a special project...

Thank you Ryan! Sorry it took me so long to get this posted, having to reshoot the photo really slowed me up.