I must admit I never thought I would get hooked on sumo, a
quintessentially Japanese sport where two large fat men aim to push their
opponent out of the ring or make him touch the ground. But hooked I am – sumo is fascinating,
full of ritual, skill, and strategy.
Besides, it’s just fun.
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| A match about to begin |
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| A referee |
So what is sumo?
Sumo is a form of wrestling that began hundreds if not thousands of
years ago. It has been associated
with Shinto rites, was a ritual at the imperial court, and became a
professional sport during the Edo period (1600’s). Young men in their teens join one of many “stables” of sumo,
where they are trained by the stable master. They live in an environment of strict tradition that
dictates what they can eat, wear, and other privileges according to their rank
as a wrestler. A sumo’s rank is
determined by the number of matches he has won in each tournament and over time,
not age or weight. Some wrestlers
are very heavy while others are not.
One, a Czech (yes, there are foreign sumo) looks like he weighs only 200
pounds, yet has been able to move into the higher divisions. Regardless of their weight, sumo wrestlers are
all very toned, flexible, and strong, strong enough to lift their opponent if
need be.
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| The audience |
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| The ring |
There are six Grand Sumo tournaments annually, each 15 days
in length and leading to the championship match. I went to see the second day
of matches in this year’s first tournament at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, which
has held tournaments for over 100 years.
I joined my friend Yuko to sit in a Matsu, one of several hundred
four-mat “boxes” that angle up from and surround the sumo ring (“dohyo”). The ring, defined by corded rice thatch
with two lines in the middle, is on a raised square topped by a clay/sand mix. Above is a roof like that of a Shinto
shrine. The matches
themselves run from 8 am to 6 pm, working up from the most junior to the
highest ranks. As the day goes on,
the arena fills up with people of all ages, including families with young
children. They either bring or pay
to be served lunch, snacks, hot tea, beer or other drinks. There’s always a buzz, with people
yelling support for a favored sumo and during a good match. When it is particularly good, the
entire crowd is engaged, yelling encouragement. (If you want to get a flavor of the event, watch YouTube,
“Summer Grand Sumo Tournament Final Highlights, 2012”, which was held at the Ryogoku
Kokugikan.)
Pomp and ceremony mark the beginning of the matches between players
in the highest-ranking divisions, who like everyone else is divided in half,
east and west. Twenty players from the west side enter the stadium, each
wearing a decorated heavy silk “apron”.
Beginning with the person ranking lowest, each is announced and the sumo
steps up to and walks around the ring, until all are standing there, facing the
audience. Then they turn around to
face each other, clap their hands, raise and lower their aprons, raise their
arms high then down, and march out. Then the twenty east side players repeat the ritual
Right now, there are two grand champions, called “yokozuna”,
one east and one west, who have achieved the highest rank possible. Again in succession, each yokozuna
comes out, dressed in an apron. Symbolizing
the link to Shinto, a white cord is wrapped around his waist, white paper
fortunes hanging in front, and tied in the back with a large bow. Standing at one end of the lines in the
middle of the ring, the yokozuna goes through a solemn ritual: he opens his arms up around and down to
bring and hold his hands together, raises each leg high and stomps it down
hard, squats then rises a bit and moves his feet forward slowly and smoothly to
the end of the lines. These
movements may seem simple, but remember that each of these men weighs over 300 pounds,
so seeing someone do this slowly and gracefully is quite impressive. (For a good picture and explanation of
this, go to YouTube, “Dezuiri 2012 – Yokozuna New Year Ring-Entering Ceremony,
Meiji Shrine”.)
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| Throwing salt to purify the ring |
As the match begins, each pair is announced and enters, dressed
in their heavy silk belts {“mawashi”) that can cost upwards of 1 million yen
(roughly $11,100). On coming into the ring, each claps his hands, raises each
leg in succession and stomps it to the ground to drive out evil spirits. In their corners, each is given a ladle
of water to rinse out his mouth and white paper to dry his lips. Then they enter the ring, stand across
from each other, squat, clap and open their arms and hands wide to show they
have no weapons. Finally they
return to their corners, lean over, stretch, etc., then pick up some salt and
throw it into the ring for purification.
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| The stare |
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| Ready to crouch |
Once in the ring again, they come to their places behind the
two lines in the middle of the ring, squat, and stare intently at each other,
beginning or perhaps continuing what I call the “ritual of intimidation”. For several times, up to as long as four minutes, they will
stare at each other, then first one and then the other will get up, slap their mawashis, return to their corners, bend and move, slap themselves, stand up,
throw some more salt into the ring, and squat again. When one of the players dramatically arches backward in his
corner or squats in the ring and bends forward low to the ground (the trademark
of one yokozuna), the crowd will roar in delight.
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| Hakuho, a Yokozuna |
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| Harumafuji, a Yokuzuna |
At last the referee will signal that the match should begin,
the sumos squat, crouch, and when each touches the ground with his fists, they
leap up and charge at each other.
They will use a multitude of techniques learned over the years: slap and push at each other, reach to
grab the other’s mawashi to get a grip and leverage, seek to push the other out
of the ring or try to do so by lifting him, or work to get the other
off-balance so he drops and touches the ground. It can all be over in a few seconds – sometimes when one men
steps aside to let the other’s momentum take him out of the ring – or can last
for as long as a minute or more.
The better the players and the more evenly matched, the longer and more
exciting the match is. For a thrilling (and long) match between Hakuho and Harumafuji, the two grand
champions, go to YouTube and watch “Hakuho vs. Harumafuji Day 15 Sumo Aki Basho
September 2012”.
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| A high-ranked sumo on the street |
Sumo is so fascinating to me because it's a dynamic balance of
seeming contradictions, as is true in so much of Japan. It’s a blend of deep history and ritual
and yet is a modern sport. Men who
are clearly heavy demonstrate enormous strength, skill, and strategy. It is awesome to see such large men who
are obviously very toned and can move very quickly. It’s a contact sport, but not violent, and I have often seen
one sumo help the other get up after a match. In
some ways sumo is solemn, but it is also fun, and the crowd clearly loves it. What’s not to like?!
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