SUMO WRESTLERS OF OLD JAPAN -- A Stable of Japan's Finest in Old Tokyo

Unbeknownst to many, the extremely FAT Sumo wrestlers of today were NOT SO FAT in the days of yore. Take a look at these guys -- probably new recruits -- and you will get the idea. However, like the ever-enlarging Hairstyles and wigs of the women over the years, the bellies of the SUMO wrestlers have likewise grown in girth.

Back then, for the most part around Japan, it was a bit Leaner and Meaner than it is now....with the occasional fat or chubby paunch (seen in some of the old "posed pictures" of Meiji-era studio fame, and the wood-block images that featured the biggest of them). But even those bigger guys in the old photos were not as extreme as they are now -- REALLY Fat and REALLY Heavy. In fact, things has already gotten out of hand by the 1930s.

In any case, they ALWAYS marry the most teeny, tiny, cutest little girls. As for the guys in the photograph, look how they floated right to the top of the picture. Give them another year or two, and they will all start sinking to the bottom of the frame.

From a ca.1903 stereoview by Herbert Ponting.