R111

1911 Kyoiku Rikishi 10-11-12 Set

This is an amazing woodblock print set and each menko had four colors(black, orange, blue, red) plus almost all menko have a gold ink overlay along the fringe of the kesho-mawashi!  The color and quality of this set makes it a true museum eligible set with a lot of historical significance.  If my kanji reading ability serves me correctly, it was printed by the Kyoiku Gangu Company, or Education Toy Company.  Examining the back, this make sense as there is a 10, 11 or 12 digit number and below that is the corresponding kanji that represents that number.  It appears that these menko were issued in the attempt to teach kids about large numbers in the millions and billions both in the standard English system and the Japanese kanji system.  This set has Tachiyama's first known menko and he was a Yokozuna for less than a year before this set was printed in late 1911.  Unfortunately, the ranking on the back doesn't match precisely all the rikishi, but most are correct.

    Company: Kyoiku Gangu                                           Availability: Extremely Rare

    Card Size: 1.5" x 2.25"                                              Card Material:  Thick, paper stock 

     # of Cards in set: 14+                                                 Packaging: Sheets

    Winner Stamp Description: Unknown 

    Front Design:  This set features a drawing of the rikishi in a generic kesho-mawashi with their shikona reading right to left.  Beautiful coloring!

   Back Design:  The Kyoiku Gangu Company name appears on the top from right to left.  Under that a 10, 11 or 12 digit fighting number appears and below that is the corresponding kanji that represent this number is below that.  In the middle of the menko is the rikishi's rank and along the very bottom is the place of birth for the rikishi in roman characters.