What's Japan without the 3-S'es? You know, Sushi -Sake - and- SUMO! Well we've done the sushi many times... we continue to try new sake's (more my style, hubby sticks with beer), and finally we got to do the sumo. I'll explain a little bit about sumo, mainly from what I learned at the match, so please don't take this as 100% accurate- its just what I think I've learned :-)
Sumo is a very old sport in Japan and has hundreds, if not thousands, of years of tradition behind it. Its remained relatively un-changed (apart from sponsorships/advertisement during matches, etc), and the rules are simple to follow. Basically you loose if any part of your body exits the ring, or you touch the ground with anything other than the soul of your foot. Simple, right? Surprisingly, there are about 82 winning "techniques" for a Sumo match and each athlete has their own style and favored moves. It was so much more than just a bunch of fat dudes shoving each other around the ring! These men are agile, quick, flexible... and just happen to be over 300 lbs each. Yikes! I don't want to be in a ring with one, that's for sure...
There are 6 tournaments in a year, 3 of which are held in Tokyo. Each tournament is 15 days long and we attended on the 14th day. There are varying levels within the competition and the lower levels start early in the the day, with the "main event" starting around 4pm. Think like minor and major league baseball. The minors go first, hoping to one day be in the majors... or they were prior majors who can't keep up but are still great sumo wrestlers. Within the "majors", there are 4 levels. Each athelete aspires to reach the top level, of which there is only one person with the title of Yokozuna. This season's current Yokozuna is a Mongolian man called Hakuho. He wasn't the biggest, but after seeing his bout we can understand why he was the Yokozuna- he is fast and skilled!
So... now to break down a match for you. There is a lot of tradition, so this is what I was able to follow:
First, all the "major league" wrestlers, or Makuuchi, entered the ring wearing extremely elaborate (and expensive!) ceremonial aprons called Kesho-mawashi, they turn, and face the crowd. This is when the fans are going crazy cheering for their favorite!
Next is the grand champion entrance. The Yokozuna enters and performs a ritual stomping of the feet to clear and evil spirits away from the ring, and calling many cheers from the crowds.
After this, the Makuuchi bouts start. Each bout has their own traditional steps as well.
1st: Each wrestler does some foot stomps in his corner.
2nd: They take a sip of water and spit it out (to purify themselves we assumed...)
3rd: The throw a handful salt into the ring, to purify the ring.
4th: They enter the ring, face each other, and bend down into what I call a sumo's version of a "ballet 2nd position grande plie". While in this position they make some big claps to each other.
5th: They go back to the corner while slapping themselves... belly, arms, legs, etc to draw cheers from the crowd. This is also when sponsor flags go around the ring if the match is important. These pictures are from the last match between the 1st and 2nd highest ranking wrestlers, so there are a LOT of sponsors!
7th: they enter into the ring again, this time facing each other and doing a few large stomps, as well as kicking the dirt in the center to a smooth surface.
8th: They sit in a ready position (this always got me! I kept thinking they were finally done!)
9th: They go BACK to their corner yet again and towel off... face, pits, etc... (yuk! I felt so bad for the young men who had to hold the towel)
10th: One more handful of salt is thrown into the ring...
11th: and FINALLY they are ready to fight!
After all the ceremony, the match can be just a few seconds long... but the exciting ones lasted for a little longer! This one was awesome... and in the last second a 400lb man was lifted into the air and slammed ont the ground. I guess that's why the wrestler in brown is the grand champion!
The travel group we went with from base provided little teeny radios and ear pieces so we could listen to an English broadcast of the tournament. It helped a lot to know what was going on and we were able to follow along on our scoresheet.
It was such an amazing day and one of the best things I've done in Japan! Its something I would love to do again, and something worth planning a trip to see!
(photo credit: Gaetano Setteneri, my wonderful friend who experienced this with us!)
