Sumoworstelwedstrijd te Tokio before 1884

Hugues Krafft captured this photograph of a sumo wrestling match in Tokyo, documenting a moment of cultural exchange. The image, part of a larger travelogue, offers a glimpse into Japan as it navigated modernization and international relations. Krafft's lens frames sumo, a sport deeply embedded in Japanese tradition, for a Western audience. We see not just the wrestlers but also the spectators, a mix of Japanese locals and what appear to be Western observers. This juxtaposition invites us to consider the dynamics of cultural encounter and the gaze of the tourist. How did the Japanese view Western interest in their traditions, and how did Westerners interpret what they saw? To understand this photograph, we might consult travel writings from the period, archival documents detailing early tourism in Japan, and studies of Japanese cultural history. Art, in this context, becomes a window into broader social and political realities.