Hello all,
I thought I'd try to spark a little interest in this forum by sharing some images of my tegata collection. I don't have a lot (11 as of right now and none of mine are active sumotori) but I hope everyone enjoys seeing what I do have. For those who don't know tegata are autographed hand prints on paper boards called shikishi that are made by professional sumotori. Only the highest ranked rikishi make them and they are given out as gifts to loyal fans and club members and on special occasions. The hand prints are usually either red or black and the signature is in black ink. They sometimes have various hanko of the rikishi's name, his rank, or a special event. Part of a young rikishi's training is shodo or how o use the brush. Many rikishi have very artistic autographs. Sometimes the shikishi board will be printed with something as well. Although I don't have any, a very rare type of tegata is on paper and it s displayed on a scroll. These will have a kanji written by one of the gyoji (referees) along side of the tegata. Tegata are a very interesting autograph because it also shows biometric feature of the wrestling star, the hand print. It is becoming popular with American athletes to make their own tegata and a quick search on ebay shows some by Michael Jordan for sale.
Here we have a lower ranked wrestler helping a higher ranked wrestler as he makes his tegata.
Anyway, over the next few days I'll reply to this post. In the reply I'll have an image of the tegata and a short write-up on the rikishi.
Cheers,
Chris