Sumo autographs database

[Pyapuchuuhou]

Hello everyone,

I would like to introduce my project that no one asked for - sumoautographs.com
I’ve been collecting sumo autographs for years, and until now, I’ve only used a terrible spreadsheet to track all the information. It was not sustainable, and it was always a pain to match a specific autograph with the corresponding row in the table.

There are several websites that feature sumo autographs (although many focus only on one specific type, typically tegata), but their capabilities are limited. I wanted a tool that offers filtering options. The only solution for me was to build something from scratch, specifically for this purpose.

Please consider this just the first version, which is good enough to be released.

Currently, the database contains about 300 autographs. I will eventually add my entire collection, but it will take some time. Everything needs to be entered manually, which is slow and error prone. As a result, there may be some wrongly annotated autographs. I would be grateful if you could report any errors to me.

Autographs can be filtered by type (e.g., tegata), highest rank of the rikishi, and a set of tags, with each autograph annotated with at least one tag:

• Authenticity - authentic, printed, dubious (yes, there are some dubious ones - e.g. I have Nishikifuji BBM card autographed by Tohakuryu, which is dubious by default)
• Tegata - filters specifically only for tegatas, hand color (red, black), hand used for the handprint (left, right)
• Various - everything else

I am open to suggestions for new tags that could improve filtering.

I am also considering additional features. One issue I’d like to address is autographs signed with different shikona (e.g. Hokutoumi, but signed as Hoshi). I might add a note field that will be hidden by default and only used in these cases.

In the future, I may remove the option to save/load queries. While sharing queries via sumodb is straightforward, this project does not support sharing links. I developed an option to save/load queries as JSON files, but it’s quite inconvenient and was only used for testing.

[I am the Yokozuna]

What a commitment. Great work!!!

[Vancouver BC Sumo Fan]

Someone buy this guy a 6 pack. Stellar work!

[Pyapuchuuhou]

Over the past few weeks, I have gradually added more autographs, and the total is now around 500. It goes much slower than expected.

For example - there are still these piles of autographed shikishi waiting to be processed (they roughly weigh 15.5kg). For each shikishi, I need to carefully remove it from the protective plastic wrap, take a picture, and then put it back. Since many of these autographs have been packed this way for years, the wraps tend to implode even when I handle them as carefully as possible. Therefore, I need to keep a large stock of replacement wraps on hand.

I also need to add the autographs discussed here. Since I cleverly deleted all the original photos and only saved the processed ones with their numbers, I will need to retake it. Additionally, there are more than 100 autographed BBM cards to add. It will take several months to complete everything.

Anyway, I have also added some interesting autographs:

• Tamanishiki - autograph on a silk screen. The date is on the back, picture here. It appears to be November 15th, Showa 7 (1932) - could someone please confirm?
• Azumafuji & Otayama - two Takasago beya stablemates.
• Taiho - this is one of the fakest looking tegata I have ever seen (hence marking it as dubious), but surpisingly it is not printed - definitely human made.
• Onishiki I - the 26th yokozuna.
• Takanobori - sekiwake from the 1930s.
• Minanogawa - the same paper as Takanobori. He used so much ink for his handprint that tears are visible on his fingers.
• Kisenosato - for fans of modern rikishi. I really like this particular tegata; it’s one of the few I have framed.