is that many menko that survive today are those cut from sheets by the kids, and so have many wavy edges and are off-centered to some degree.  I have yet to notice an effect on game play from the different cutting methods.

Now that we’ve talked about the front of the menko, let’s move to the back.  The backs of sumo menko came in all sorts of themes such as Chinese Zodiac signs, war images or outer space drawings, but the two basic types that are consistent on all the menko after 1950 are the Gu-Choki-Pa (Rock-Scissors-Paper) mark and Fighting Numbers.  These were used in the different variations of menko game rules.  Instead of slamming the menko on the ground trying to flip the opponent’s menko over, the kids could simply pull out different menko and use the Gu-Choki-Pa marks to outplay their opponents.  The Fighting Numbers were also used to play a variation of menko.  See last issue’s Sumo Menko Basics article for more details on the variation of these games.  The emergence of the Gu-Choki-Pa marks on sumo menko is first seen at the beginning of the 1940s and is standard until 1964, but the 1930s menko only have Fighting Numbers.  I’m still looking into this to see if this was an across the board menko trend or just on sumo menko.  Menko backs are very important in set identification, which we’ll discuss in further detail in the next issue of SFM. 

For those of you interested in collecting, I’ve tried to provide a good starting point at www.sumo menko.com, where there are numerous photos of different menko and checklists for the set collectors.  I’ve also tried to provide a general overview of all things sumo menko on the front.  The big thing will be finding a good source of sumo menko.  There is almost always an auction or two on eBay from four or five different sellers.  This is a great