Autograph showcase #4 - Io Shirai Autographs

Blog #119 continues our authentic Joshi Autograph coverage with another
series of signatures from arguably the world's greatest female competitor
currently signed to any promotion today.

Today we'll be looking at Autographs personally signed by the"Genius of
the Sky" Io Shirai!

Continuing the modern Joshi Autograph trend, each Autograph measures
30 x 21cm (8 x 11 inches) and was signed on glossy photo-print paper.


                                      

The first Autograph comes from 2012 and features Shirai with a bouquet
of white roses and a hot pink backdrop.

                 

Another early example from the BMD web store archive features Shirai
holding the Mexican "Americas World Mixed Tag Team Championship".

Shirai would number her early STARDOM-era Autographs, inspiring
fans to seek out and collect every picture in the set.

                  

As Shirai is always updating her colourful ring attire, collecting her
Autographed photos is never tiring.

                                         

This provocative 2013 Autograph piece embraces Shirai's masked alter
-ego "Iotica" and features Shirai dressed in a revealing, studded black
leather top.

                                         

Shirai has a rock and roll oriented "thunderbolt" signature.

                                       

As Japan's most popular answer to a Joshi Tiger Mask, this 2014 Autograph
piece depicts Shirai once again in her Iotica ring mask while holding both
the STARDOM "World of Stardom" and "High Speed Championship" belts!

  
                     

This particular Iotica ring mask brings to mind a similar design to Rey
Mysterio's crucifix design. Iotica's mask also contains the red, white
and green colours of the Mexican flag.

Fellow masked Japanese legend Ultimo Dragon (who was also known
for having strong connections with Mexico as a Pro-Wrestler) would
also adopt the colours of Mexico into his own masks.


                               

A person's Autograph and inscription says a lot about the person's
character behind a persona.

Naturally, Shirai almost always adds a signed date (revolving
around the events she is participating at) and a small inscription
about the event.

In the above case, Shirai's inscription reads "vs Satomura revenge!"
(as Shirai lost the match to rival Meiko Satomura); making this
Autograph a small time capsule of the event.

                                    

Shirai's thunderbolt signature is on full display with this next

Autographed piece.

                                   

The above inscription mentions the venue "Hakata Star Lane" and
the 6th High Speed Stardom Championship (which Shirai would
win).

                

One of my favorite Shirai photos. As a natural high-flyer, Shirai's
ring attire brings to mind the more intricate Lucha ensembles from
the last 30 years.

                    

In this Autograph piece, Shirai's inscription says "I did it <3" referencing her tag match
victory on the night's Stardom card.

If vertical portraits aren't your thing, there are also autographed horizontal portraits
available.

As Hiroshi Tanahashi is the Ace of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Shirai is considered
the Ace of Stardom. As such, Shirai added the inscription "ACE" to this Autograph
piece.


                          

As one of Japan's greatest female competitors, Shirai is no stranger to holding
multiple belts at once!

Shirai's ring name is written in Japanese Kanji and Katakana in the left
corner and also includes an "ACE" inscription once again.