Travel Japan Info - Sumo Wrestling

Travel Japan Info - Sumo Wrestling

Sumo wrestling is a unique Japanese sport in which two large wrestlers or ri kishi grapple and attempt to push each other out of a circular ring or doyo, or throw the other down to the ground. The doyo is made of a platform of clay and sand. Sumo is an ancient sport, probably from the Edo period, and the first wrestlers were probably samurai warriors. The wrestlers wear a Japanese mawashibelt, or loin cloth, and have their hair tied up in a top knot. Sumo wrestling is steeped in tradition, with the wrestlers performing a ritual dance and scattering of salt before beginning the bout.


The bouts are usually quite fast, lasting sometimes only a few seconds, sometimes 5 minutes or so, with the winner determined by pushing or throwing the opponent out of the ring, or by pushing or throwing the opponent to the ground. The wrestlers first crouch, then lunge at each other and grapple with each other trying to gain advantage. Although there are many levels of rank in Sumo, the top ranks are Grand Champion or Yokozuna, ozeki, sekiwake, and komusubi.

There are several Sumo tournaments held during the year at different locations. Three are held in Tokyo at the Ryogoku Hall in January, May, and September. One is held in Osaka in March, one in Nagoya in July, and one in Fukuoka in November. The tournaments last for 15 days, and the wrestlers battle each other and the wrestler with the best winning record is deemed the winner of the tournament.


Travel Japan Sumo Food:

The wrestlers eat a hot pot called chanko nabe-a stew with meat, fish and seafood, and lots of vegetables, and in large quantities to help them gain weight. There are restaurants in Japan that specialize in this hot pot. I was fortunate to be able to taste the hot pot in Nagoya at a restaurant owned by a retired oya kata or sumo stable master and found that the chanko nabe was tasty and very filling.

Special thanks to my good friend Dennis Leatherman, a very popular and talented local artist, and his wife Mieko, who have collaborated on this and other articles.  You can see other pictures on Dennis' flickr website:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hageta/.

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