Yodotaki

Yodotaki (Japanese: 淀滝, born 1784) was an Edo period Japanese sideshow performer, described in secondary sources as a remarkably tall and powerful strongwoman performer in Edo (modern Tokyo).[1][2][3] Sources give her height at seven shaku five sun (227.3 cm (7 ft 5.5 in)).[1][4]  Multiple Edo-period primary sources mention her, including Takizawa Bakin (1767–1848), the author of Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, who mentions her in his miscellany Toen Shōsetsu (1825).[4] Other primary sources, Waga Koromo,[5] Kiku no Manimani,[6] Gaidan Bunbun Shūyō (1860),[7] and Bukō Nenpyō also mention her.[8]

Biography and performances

Yodotaki performed at a sideshow booth (Misemono) or a tea house around Yanagi Inari in the Asakusa entertainment area.[1] The Edo period essay collection Waga Koromo describes her as mime-yoshi (見目よし; "good-looking").[5] Her act featured feats of strength. In her performances, she would grip a go-board and swing it to blow out candles. She also carried a 60 kg (130 lb) rice bale with a small man sitting on top. She lifted as much as 206 kg (454 lb), or held a temple bell on her left shoulder while writing with her right hand.[1][5]

Height and Raiden Tameemon

Sources describe her at seven shaku five sun (227.3 cm)[1][4] as taller than the sumo wrestler Raiden Tameemon (1767–1825), who stood at six shaku five sun (197 cm).[9][10] Yodotaki and Raiden lived during the same period.[1][9][10] While Raiden's activity was centered in the Ryōgoku area,[9][10] Yodotaki performed in nearby Asakusa, located within walking distance of Ryōgoku.[1][2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Mitamura, En'gyō (1996). 相撲の話 [Sumō no Hanashi]. Chūkō Bunko (in Japanese). Chūōkōron-Shinsha. p. 211. ISBN 978-4122027688.
  2. ^ a b Hosokawa, Ryōichi (1998). 平家物語の女たち：大力・尼・白拍子 [Heike Monogatari no Onna-tachi: Dairiki, Ama, Shirabyōshi]. Kōdansha Gendai Shinsho (in Japanese). Kōdansha. p. 42. ISBN 978-4061494244.
  3. ^ a b Okitsu, Kaname (2008). 江戸小咄女百態 [Edo Kobanshi Onna Hyakutai]. Chikuma Bunko (in Japanese). Chikuma Shobō. p. 164. ISBN 978-4480424099.
  4. ^ a b c Takizawa, Bakin (1825). 兎園小説 [Toen Shōsetsu] (in Japanese).
  5. ^ a b c Katō, Hikiōan. 我衣 [Waga Koromo] (in Japanese).
  6. ^ Kitamura, Nobusetsu. 聞のまにまに [Kiku no Manimani] (in Japanese).
  7. ^ Ishizuka, Toyokashi (1860). 街談文々集要 [Gaidan Bunbun Shūyō] (in Japanese).
  8. ^ Saitō, Gessen. 武江年表 [Bukō Nenpyō] (in Japanese).
  9. ^ a b c Cuyler, P. L. (1979). Sumo: from rite to sport (1st ed.). New York: Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0834801455.
  10. ^ a b c Hall, Mina (1997). The big book of sumo: history, practice, ritual, fight. Berkeley, Calif: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1880656280.
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