1960s Sumo Menko

"The End of an Era"

After Yokozunas Wakanohana and Tochinishiki retired in the early 1960s sumo entered another slump in popularity and the sumo menko era was also coming to an end.  Other "distractions" at that time, including TV and baseball, lead children away from playing menko and battling other kids.  Instead, Japan was becoming an economic power and kids were encouraged to spend more time studying in order to get ahead in life.  No longer were menko battles seen as preparing kids for the world they would enter later in life.  Not only sumo menko, but baseball menko were no longer being printed and produced and by 1965 the sumo menko era was over.  A few sets of cards were produced by the Kabaya Food Company in the latter half of the 1960s, but these weren't menko and more along the lines of trading cards.

1.  1960 Dai Gunbai 6 Set

2.  1960 Dou Fusa 7 Set

4.  1961 Doyusha Shiki 5 Set

6.  1963 Yonensei Set

7.  1964 Grey Tawara 5 Set