1940s

"The War Years"

The 1940s were particularly hard on sumo menko printing and production.  Fortunately Futabayama's supremacy and popularity pulled sumo through World War 2, but when he retired 3 months after the war ended, sumo entered a slump.  Japan's involvement and subsequent loss in the war meant that many basho were cancelled and many rikishi were called to military service or were killed in the bombing raids on Tokyo.  The US Military requisitioned the Kokugikan after the war and some basho were moved outside.  The biggest factor in the decline of sumo's popularity was, however, the lack of a strong Yokozuna during this time.  One reason is that Futabayama was so strong otherwise strong rikishi always palled in comparison.  It is very difficult to find menko sets from the 1940s and even harder to find any from the actual war years since paper was a scarce commodity at the time.  Expect to pay a premium for any menko of this era.

3.  1940 Sensou 4 Set

4.  1941 Rikishi 5 Set

5.  1942 Nagoya Gunbai Set