What we are sure about is that basketball didn’t exist in the 19th century.
Let alone, therefore, it was possible that it was the protagonist of the Ukiyo, a genre of Japanese artistic printing that flourished in the Edo period between the 17th and 20th centuries.

However, the way in which the New Zealand illustrator and art director Andrew Archer created his works would make it almost plausible.
Edo Ball, the name of his project, is a set of incredible illustrations in which demons and ancient Japanese folklore creatures play basketball with disquieting skeleton heads.
Everything, from the back to the protagonists and colours, recalls the art of Ukiyo.

The reason why he wanted to combine these two different elements is linked to his two greatest passions: basketball, a sport that he has practiced for a lifetime, and Japan, whose artistic culture is for him a great source of inspiration.