Performing Modernities in the Ring

In February 1921, the American wrestlers Ad Santel and Henry Weber came to Japan to engage in several public bouts against fighters from the Kōdōkan jūdō school. The main event of their Japan tour was the matches held in a sumō ring at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine on March 5 and 6.2 These mixed martial arts matches became a mega-event, attracting between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators. Over the course of two days, four matches of three rounds each were fought. Santel and Weber were fighting in catch-as-catch-can wrestling (short: catch-wrestling), a hybrid grappling style characterized by submission holds. In the early 20th century, catch wrestling was still a legitimate competitive sport in the US, practiced by professional wrestlers who barnstormed the country and performed at circuses, vaudeville theatres, and carnivals, often also appearing as strongmen.