Imported from Japan. These Sumo trading cards are based on the September, 1997 rankings and originally published over 25 years ago by BBM. This series is called 1997 Modern. Each pack contains 8 random cards (more recent years have 5 or 6). Each box has 30 packs for a box total of 240 cards (which is double the number versus recent years).
The complete set has all 40 top division (Makuuchi) wrestlers, 26 second division (Juryo) wrestlers, 50 heya cards, 14 referees (Gjoyi), 12 yobidashi, 9 basho and special prize winners, 10 yokozuna from Showa era, 10 top 10 total wins cards, and 5 sumo museum, and 4 checklist cards for a base set total of 180. There are also 23 different insert cards included randomly across every few boxes (30 packs per box) (5 special yokozuna/ozeki cards, 9 Takanohana dohyoiri, and 9 Akebono dohyoiri) for a complete set of 203. Most of the text on the cards is in Japanese, however, the wrestler's English language name is also on the card for those of us who don't speak Japanese.
Here are some of the sumo stars you might find in a pack:
Yokozuna for this series are Takanohana and Akebono.
Ozeki are Musashimaru, Takanonami, and Wakanohana.
Sekiwake are Tosanoumi, Tochiazuma, and Takatoriki.
Komusubi are Musoyama, Kaio, and Tamakasuga.
Other popular wrestlers you might find are Konishiki, Dejima, Terao, and many others.
Check out this link for the Banzuke rankings from September 1997.
As a bonus, we include Ultra Pro clear card sleeves to protect your cards.
Happy Collecting.
