Mid Century 60s Japanese Sumo Wrestling Techniques Paper Cut Art Portfolio Set of Eleven (11) Black White Unframed Signed Vintage

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Medium: Papercut kirié on on fine art paper

A contemporary Japanese set of eleven different sumo poses or Kimarite, rendered … Read more Medium: Papercut kirié on on fine art paper

A contemporary Japanese set of eleven different sumo poses or Kimarite, rendered in black and white.
Each sheet is 11 x 9.5 inch and has neatly cut out sumo fighters wrestle it out in each of these poses. Each pose has the name in Japanese inscribed on the base along with the artist’s hanko in red oval also cut out.

In Sumo there are a total of 82 Kimarite or final match winning techniques or way to lose, all defined by Japan Sumo Association.

For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament (or honbasho), a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner. It is possible (although rare) for the judges to modify this decision later. Records of the kimarite are kept and statistical information on the preferred techniques of different wrestlers can be deduced easily. For example, a pie chart of the kimarite used by each sekitori in the past year can be found on the Japan Sumo Association webpage.

* Papercut art or kirié, also called papercutting, or scherenschnitte in German and découpage in French, is the art of paper designs. Its origins trace back to the Han Dynasty in Northern China in the 4th century AD, after Chinese official Cai Lun invented paper in 105 AD.
Like many traditional Japanese art forms, kirié is a lesson in precision and patience. To cut one line is simple enough, but to cut hundreds or thousands – to physically create an entire scene, with all its complexities, from the two-dimensional surface of a sheet of paper? That is the art of kirié.

Paper-cutting as a craft was introduced to Japan shortly after the arrival of washi paper around 610 AD. Initially practiced exclusively to create religious offerings and ornaments, kirié found popularity within Japan’s folk art community as washi became more accessible. Over the centuries, kirié has been refined and expanded into increasingly complex forms, such as framed art installations and sculptures wrought from sheets of paper. Modern artists from around the world continue to develop these techniques, pushing the boundaries of the medium and breathing new life into a centuries-old tradition. See less