Sumo with Babies (Sumo 6)

You’re probably wondering, “What do babies have to do with sumo?”

Well, it’s the Nakizumō Festival (Sumo of Tears), otherwise known as the Sumo Crying Baby Festival!

For the past 400 years or so during Golden Week, Japanese parents have been taking their babies to compete in a sumo crying bout. Variations of this festival are held at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples throughout Japan, usually on April 29 (Showa Day) or May 5th (Children’s Day).

It’s a competition between 6- to 18-month-old infants and it’s held in a small dohyō with two apprentice rikishi, a gyōji (referee), and occasionally a yobidashi (ring announcer).

Parents bring their infants to the shrines and temples to be blessed in the hope that they’ll have long, healthy lives. They then might enter them in the sumo contest.

Two tykes compete at a time, and there can be more than a hundred contestants, sometimes chosen by lottery, since this is a very popular event. First they dress the babies up for the competition, perhaps with a headdress and something similar to a sumo apron. Then the tots are handed over to the apprentice rikishi, who carry the combatants into the small dohyō. The yobidashi (ring announcer) sings out each of the competitors’ names. If there’s no yobidashi present, then the gyōji announces the contestants’ names. The two apprentice rikishi proceed to the center of the ring and then touch the babies's feet on the ground for the tachiai (the initial position at the start of the bout). Then they're presented to the gyōji tries to make the babies cry.

The combatants enter the dohyō. Maria del Carmen Calatrava Moreno (cropped).

It’s all in great fun, of course. The apprentice rikishi are all goodhearted guys and, despite their size, they’re not frightening. That is, except for Hoshoryu right before a tachiai.

Hoshoryu’s game face as he intimidates his opponent.

The apprentice rikishi don’t want to make babies cry—they just hold and gently bounce them, which is soothing to the contestants. That job is up to the gyōji, whose decisions no doubt sometimes even make the rikishi want to cry.

Before I go on, I want to mention that the idea behind this is that a crying baby will grow faster, and the louder it cries, the stronger, more blessed, healthy, and successful it will be. Also, the cries are said to protect them by scaring away evil spirits. The apprentice rikishi are there as excellent examples of growth and strength. It’s all related to the proverb, “Naku ko wa sodatsu” (Crying babies grow faster).

This is not—as the sensational press hints at—harmful, unethical, or a mild form of torture, all of which are suggested to make the Japanese seem strange. But it’s not unusual when you understand what is going on.

This is actually a Shinto ceremony, albeit a rather fun one. It’s also a celebration. Sumo began as part of the Shinto harvest festivities and it, too, is a Shinto ceremony, but in this case the trappings of sumo are used in this blessing ceremony for babies.

So, back to the sumo match. Getting the kids to cry is considered a positive thing and it doesn’t really hurt them—most babies do a lot of it on their own anyway, often at the drop of a hat. Usually parents try to stop them, but not in this case.

The first to cry or the one who cries the loudest and longest is the victor. Being handed over to a gigantic stranger doesn’t seem to bother most of them, perhaps because the apprentice rikishi resemble them more than other adults do.

As I said, the hard part falls to the ref. Normally during sumo bouts, he calls out “Nokotta! Nokotta! Nokotta!” repeatedly, telling the rikishi they’re “still in” and should continue. In baby sumo he calls “Naki! Naki! Naki!” (Cry! Cry! Cry!) as encouragement to do just that. But this doesn’t always work since the gyōji aren’t very threatening either, and the youngsters seem to like their colorful traditional outfits and wooden gunbai (samurai war fans) they use to signal decisions, among other things. This forces them to use something else to elicit sobbing.

As a last resort, the ref or his assistants don a tengu mask, usually with a red face and a long nose, but often in other colors. The tengu are mischievous and occasionally dangerous spirits—ones that flee at the sound of babies’ crying—but they sometimes take on a protective role. They are usually depicted of as human-bird chimeras.

Resorting to the mask. Brinacor.

By this point someone’s usually bawling and the winning baby or both babies are then held aloft by the apprentice rikishi as the family and some of the crowd yell out, “banzai raku” (enjoy a long life). Raising the baby overhead high in the air is thought to strengthen the blessing.

We have a winner. Brinacor (cropped).

Everyone has a great time—except for the infants for a short moment—but they receive their well-wishings.

And just in case you got the impression that Hoshoryu, one of the fiercest sumo rikishi, would easily frighten any baby, think again. This is what the masterful Mongolian ōzeki (the second highest rank) looks like outside the dohyō when he's studious and happy.

 He actually seems like a very nice guy.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

I hope to post more in this series soon.

 

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If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8, and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.

No Celebrating Allowed (Sumo 5)

These posts make more sense when read in order.

Please click here for the first article in this series.

 

On winning the January 2009 tournament—his 23rd championship—dai yokozuna (great champion) Asashōryū raised his two fists in the air to celebrate his victory and he got in trouble for it. Celebratory gestures are not allowed in sumo. At the 2022 World Games tournament in Birmingham, Alabama, on winning the title for the men’s lightweight championship, the Egyptian contender yelled out in celebration and did a backflip. The judges disqualified his win for unsportsman-like conduct, which caused his coach to throw a fit, while the contender refused to exit the ring. The audience sided with the coach. It took five policemen to calm things down.

The judges held a rematch and the Egyptian won again, getting the gold medal, but because of the coach’s behavior, they banned the team from the remainder of the tournament. The International Sumo Federation issued a statement saying, “In all sports, respect for the rules, officials, and fellow athletes is paramount and the referee’s decision is always final.”

Of course many people disagreed with this, especially the Americans and Egyptians, but from a sumo and Japanese perspective, it was completely justified.

The coach was a former upper-division rikishi in Japan with the ring name Ōsunaarashi (Great Sandstorm). He was the first rikishi from the continent of Africa and had three gold stars for defeating a yokozuna (grand champion). He was active from 2012 to 2018. As a former rikishi, he should have known better. All judges’ decisions are final and disrespect is definitely not allowed.

Rikishi are expected to maintain dignity. What Asashōryū did when raising his fists in the air is nothing compared to the victory dances of American football and basketball players, and the Egyptian’s behavior was not much different. That’s pretty much expected in other sports. Even professional golfers often thrust a fist in the air, but that’s a big no-no in sumo.

Overall, rikishi always remain calm, polite, and dignified. The rikishi are expected to follow the written and unwritten rules. This, along with the emphasis on tradition, rituals, and honor, make this sport a mirror of Japanese society itself.

This doesn’t apply to the crowd. They loudly cheer and yell out encouragement to their favorite rikishi, while shaking their banners and signs. If a fan favorite has an impressive win, there’s an upset, or when someone wins the championship, they jump to their feet, cheering, yelling, and waving their arms. It’s one of the few times the normally quiet and reserved Japanese people go wild.

Occasionally the spectators throw their zabutons (seat cushions) into the dohyō (ring) or at a rikishi. This is a 300-year tradition that can be either congratulatory on a great win, or it can be out of disappointment and frustration when a yokozuna or ōzeki (the second highest rank) underperforms or loses, generally to much lower ranking opponent. This is unusual behavior for the Japanese, and it is discouraged, but people still do it. The rikishi, on the other hand, must remain professional and set a good example.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

 

Click here for the next article in this series:

Sumo with Babies

 

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If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8,and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.

Gentle Warriors (Sumo 4)

 

These posts make more sense when read in order.

Please click here for the first article in this series.

 

Some people don’t get that sumo—even though it's a fighting sport—is not really about fighting. In Japanese society there’s a strong emphasis on social harmony and they place a high value on respect for one another. This is also expressed in sumo.

You will never see rikishi (participants) mouthing off about how great they are, while yelling all the terrible things they’re going to inflict on their opponent. They’re taught to not show any emotions in the dohyō (ring). They often try to prevent a losing opponent from falling off the platform or try to help him get back to his feet. Generally they treat each other with respect and are required to bow to one another before and after each bout. On losing a bout, they never say anything negative about their opponent. They might even praise him. Sometimes they may briefly mention their own mistake, but they almost always talk about how they’ll try to do better next time and how they’ll do their best to improve and learn so they can advance their game. Asian cultures value self-improvement over self-esteem.

I’ve never seen anything even remotely like this in any other fighting sport. There are times when rikishi do show emotions, such as on winning a tournament trophy, a major promotion, or on retiring.

Again, this is a reflection of Japanese society. Their way of life is actually quite amazing. No one knows this who hasn’t actually been there to experience it. Going to Japan is like suddenly stepping 30 years into the future, and it’s not just the advanced technology. While every society has its good and bad points and we can all learn from other cultures, Japan definitely has many features and manners of behavior that I really hope will spread throughout the world.

Rikishi are expected to show dignity, modesty, and humility at all times—things that are highly valued in Japanese society. They are supposed to be role models, and, as such, they are highly respected. Yet they also need to be aggressive and fight furiously if they are to enter and remain in the top ranks.

Sadanofuji in 2010. FourTildes.

In spite of their imposing size, most rikishi are gentle and kindhearted outside the ring. Their round, baby-like faces with their engaging smiles reveal their gentler sides and their general politeness.

What sumo is about is using your strength to overcome an opponent. It’s sort of like arm wrestling, but on a much grander scale and it takes a lot more than strength to win. It’s also a demonstration of technique, of one’s abilities, of the constant battle to overcome barriers—usually injuries—and of striving to achieve one’s best performance. And it’s also about the rikishi’s home community, as he is its representative. This is Japan’s national sport and everyone is involved, even the Emperor, since its ultimate trophy is called the Emperor’s Cup.

Overall, for the Japanese nation, it’s a sanctioned release of aggression in a way that’s restrained and controlled so that no one, hopefully, gets hurt. And it’s done in a spiritual setting.

Don't get me wrong, these guys can get very aggressive during a bout, but for the most part they aren't mean about it. Animosities and rivalries do occasionally arise, but from what I've seen, things rarely get personal and the rikishi almost always keep the bouts on a professional level (although I suspect Tim Bissell—mentioned below—might disagree). If they deviate from that, they risk harming their career.

There’s more on this in my next post.

I know it's strange, but I have a deep respect for all of the rikishi. I always hope all of them win and I'm very happy for those that do.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

Click here for the next article in this series:

No Celebrating Allowed

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If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8, and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.

A Brief Note on Sumo Techniques (Sumo 3)

 

These posts make more sense when read in order.

Please click here for the first article in this series.

 

There are so many techniques involved that no rikishi can use all of them. The official list has 82 winning techniques. It's worth checking out the Sumo Girls' demonstration of them. It's less than three minutes long and they make it very entertaining.

Rikishi’s tend to specialize in certain techniques, but occasionally they’ll pull off something random. Ura has used an unusual technique called tsuteae-zori, where he zips under his opponent’s armpit and tips backwards, sending both him and his opponent to the clay. In one bout he won with a zubuneri, where he used his head as a pivot to throw down his opponent—the first time that technique was used in the upper division in 25 years.[i]

Because things happen so fast in dohyo (ring), a rikishi has to think extremely quickly and be flexible in order to respond to rapidly changing situations. Often they don’t even have time to think and say their body automatically responds, rather like how a pianist can play without thinking.

The bouts happen so quickly that they’re tough to follow. Fortunately we have instant replays and slow-motion replays. In many matches one player quickly loses before they’re able to respond, but in the longer bouts you can see the techniques they’re trying to use, and when one strategy doesn’t work, you’ll see them switch to another.

But it’s difficult for them because they have to focus on both their defense and offense at the same time. If one is trying to get a grip on his opponent’s belt with both hands, he’s also trying to prevent his opponent from getting grips on his own belt...or one of his arms, while also trying to prevent a pushing attack. If the opponent gets a belt grip with even one hand, he has to makes sure to keep his balance so he’s not thrown or slapped down to the clay. These guys are so strong that some of them are thrown in complete somersaults, which is a falling technique to reduce injuries.

There are certain features and abilities that rikishi need: strength, size, speed, agility, and techniques. They all have these or most of these to varying degrees. I’m tempted to add craziness to the list for Tobizaru, but I think what he does is more a combination of speed, agility, and unusual techniques. His name means “flying monkey” and you could say that’s what his style looks like. He’s definitely entertaining to watch in action.

There is so much more to this sport that I’m barely scratching the surface here. I think it would make a great book and I would love to write one, if I can get any publishers interested.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

Click here for the next article in this series:

Gentle Warriors

 

---

If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8, and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.

 

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[i] See the May 2023 Natsu Basho (summer tournament) on day 12, Tobizaru vs. Ura.

Sumo is Not Wrestling (Sumo 2)

 

These posts make more sense when read in order.

Please click here for the first article in this series.

 

You’ll notice that I don’t call the contenders “wrestlers”, preferring the Japanese term “rikishi”, which is a professional in Grand Sumo. That’s because they aren’t really wrestlers, even though to Western eyes that’s what it looks like they are, and they’re often referred to as such in English. Wrestling is a tradition that dates at least as far back as ancient Greece. It is a form of grappling where one tries to pin down the opponent. That has progressed to be incorporated into today’s fighting sports, to include cage fighting and beyond to professional wrestling and lucha libre. This form of wrestling is much more intimate than sumo.

江戸村のとくぞう.

Sumo is not like any form of wrestling. While there is considerable contact, it is mostly with the arms and hands for pushing, gripping, and throwing, along with leaning against the opponent’s upper body. In addition, they sometimes use their legs for tripping.

Other forms of wresting are much more intimate with high amounts of contact. Athletic wrestling is more a grappling sport with very little fighting. It is similar to sumo in that it is controlled, but it's not nearly as violent. You'll never see an athletic wrestler thrown head first off a platform into the crowd and onto concrete. The fighting forms of wrestling, on the other hand, tend to be much more aggressive and spiteful than sumo, bad-mouthing their opponents, as in cage fighting, where their goal is to hurt and disable their opponent, and in the staged overly dramatic professional wrestling.

There’s nothing even close to this in sumo.

Sumo is considered to be a martial art somewhat similar to judo, jujitsu, and aikido, but it’s much, much older, dating back to at least a.d. 642. Before that there are indications it was originally a dance that was a form of prayer for a good harvest. This evolved into a religious exhibition of strength performed at festivals. In the 1600s began to become more like a sport. But it’s not a sport for those who participate in it—it’s their lifestyle. Westerners usually see it as a sport, but that’s only a small part of what it actually is.

For a while it was used in military training for samurai, so I like to think of the participants as warriors, although calling them athletes is more accurate. They are not wrestlers. They are fighters, but not in the usual sense. Sumo isn’t like other fighting sports. There’s no hitting, punching, or kicking. Slapping is allowed and they're allowed to kick an opponent’s feet out from under them, which is called a foot sweep. Their version of fighting is different from that of other sports in that it is tightly controlled.

Ideally fighting in the military is supposed to be like this. Combat personnel need to be able to kill the enemy, but they're not supposed to like doing it, much less enjoy or revel in it. They're required to kill for their country in a detached fashion. That's the ideal anyway, but, of course, it doesn't work out that way. Often hatred and racism are used to motivate them, and it's very difficult to keep it all from becoming very personal and aggressive. Sumo is more like the military ideal, whereas other fighting sports are not.

In fighting sports, spectators often want to see fighters hurt their opponents and seeing someone get knocked out is considered the ultimate win. In sumo it’s the opposite. They usually do their best not to hurt each other. They do often get injured, but it's usually by accident. They try to win, but rarely at someone else’s expense. Some are extra careful when fighting an injured opponent. It’s not so much about beating an opponent. It’s about doing one’s personal best. Here the spectators don’t want to see the rikishi get injured and are happy when they find an apparently injured rikishi is okay.

Still, sumo does involve fighting, in a restricted sense. It can be very violent and some rikishi are very aggressive. They all fight hard and there are a lot of serious injuries—more than in most sports. They clash at fast speeds, often smashing their heads together. They fall or are thrown, landing heavily on their shoulders elbows, fingers, hips, or knees. They land on their backs along the edge of the platform, and they are often ejected off the platform, sometimes several rows into the audience, hitting the concrete floor. And they land on top of each other. There’s a lot of weight flying around. It is a very dangerous sport and I really wish they would make it safer. But it's not like boxing where they pummel each other round after round, or a chaotic free-for-all like kickboxing.

The first thing people notice is their size. Many of the rikishi are more than six feet tall and they are bulky. These guys are very large, but it’s not just the biggest rikishi who wins. While bulk helps with pushing and holding one’s ground, it can sometimes be a hindrance and very often it’s the smaller guy who wins.

Sumo doesn’t have any weight classes because that doesn’t really matter. Small rikishi often take down large opponents, although a large size does have its advantages. Injuries are common and that helps to level the playing field. These guys often fall hard and occasionally fly off the platform and onto the audience.

Take a look at the following 2020 exhibition tournament demonstration of what the 218-pound (99 kg) Enho could do with the great yokozuna (grand champion) 348-pound (158 kg) Hakuho, his stablemate and teacher. While it's not a serious match, it's still fun to watch.

 

Takanoyama in 2012. FourTildes.

When the thin, but agile, 223-pound (101 kg) Czech rikishi Takanoyama went up against 408-pound (185 kg) Tenkaiho, Tenkaiho grabbed Takanoyama and marched him backwards to the straw bales, yet Takanoyama still achieved a stunning win. You can see that here. 

I won't describe the next ones to you. You need to see them yourself. The judges saw a problem with the first match, so they had to do it over with a very different result.

Five-foot, nine-inch (174 cm) Midorifuji gets both hands in under his towering opponent’s shoulders while pushing back, then he pulls him forward to get him off balance. As he moves to the side, he lets go with one hand, using it to grab the opponent’s arm, and pulls him further forward, then places his other hand on the opponent’s back to push him to the clay, all in just a few seconds.

Abi’s not small, but one interesting technique I’ve seen him use is during his initial charge he pushes up on his opponent’s jaw forcing the head back, which knocks his opponent off balance, then he steps to the side out of the way and his opponent lowers his upper body forward, and still off balance with nothing to grab onto, falls into the empty space, as Abi watches him go down, assisting him with a slight push.[i] 

Onosato did this to Abi in the same tournament.

Abi is also able to do this when on the defensive. As his opponent pushes him backwards to the edge of the ring, he makes a space between them, and as he hops along the ring’s edge, he reaches up behind his opponent’s head and pulls forward, so the opponent falls into the empty space, with a push from behind.[ii] 

Or, when Abi pushes up an opponent’s jaw and gets him off balance, then he can charge forward, pushing the opponent out of the ring.

The largest rikishi was Orora from Russia, who weighed 645 pounds (293 kg), but he lost a lot of matches because his opponents could run around him and tire him out.

While a bulky body matters to pushers and thrusters, thin rikishi win because they are very agile and quick. Short rikishi also have an advantage in that they can get in from below and throw their opponent off balance, sometimes lifting them by their leg to throw them down. The main thing is that they all have to be extremely strong.

These are definitely not fat men wearing diapers. These are highly skilled athletes. They have to be extremely focused and able to respond to rapidly changing situations with split-second decisions. Some say their body responds by instinct and they don’t even remember what they did or what happened during a bout. This is from years of very repetitive practice so that their body knows what to do without thinking about it, much like how a piano player thinks of what the music sounds like and their hands just hit the right keys.

Most bouts are over within seconds, with the longest lasting up to two minutes, so there’s usually little time to think. Bouts run long when there are extended periods of deadlock with the two rikishi leaning against one another waiting until they can get an advantage by being able to grab hold of their opponent’s belt or surprising them with a strong push back or to the side.

They can be confident they’re going to win and completely dominate the match, but still lose at the last second. Such surprise upsets actually happen quite often, and this makes sumo unpredictable.

When I first started watching I found their sparse attire a bit distracting, but I soon began not to notice it much, since I became more focused on that they are doing. Now I just think of it as their uniform. They used to wear ceremonial aprons in front, but they kept causing complications so they gradually shortened them, and then got rid of them altogether, replacing them with symbolic cords that are just tucked into the mawashi so that they are able to fall off...and they often do.

Mawashis are not skimpy. They may look that way because these guys are huge, but they weigh about 11 to 16 pounds (5 to 7 kg) and are around 23 to 39 feet (7 to 12 m) in length and are either canvas or silk, depending on the rikishi’s rank.

Part of the fun of watching sumo is to see the techniques and moves that each rikishi uses; how they have to rapidly try different techniques as the circumstances change; and which types of moves triumph over others. The mawashis help make this more visible. The mawashis are also durable and won’t come off in a match, so they are perfect for this sport.

In today’s Japan, rikishi are the only ones who wear the topknot hairstyle, or chonmage. This style was once worn by samurai and is a tradition carried over from the time when sumo was part of samurai training.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

Click here for the next article in this series:

A Brief Note on Sumo Techniques

 

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If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8, and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.

 

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[i] See the March 2024 Haru Basho (spring tournament), against Kirishima. Takakeisho also used it against Asanoyama that same basho.

[ii] See the March 2024 Haru Basho (spring tournament) with Abi against Takakeisho.

The Warrior Spirit and Magic of Sumo (Sumo 1)

An opening ceremony. Keith Pomakis.

Sumo seems like an odd sport at first glance. You have these huge guys pushing and throwing each other around. But despite initial appearances, and once you get beyond society’s biases, you find that these are incredibly strong and sometimes agile athletes. They’re also the last remnants of the warrior samurai and behind them is many centuries of tradition, with the referees dressed in their intricately designed kimonos, similar to those of Shinto priests, with their samurai wooden war-fans; the purification rituals using salt, power water, and power paper; the dramatic foot-stomping to drive away evil spirits; the sword-slashing hand gestures; and the opening ceremony with the yokozuna (grand champion) presented as a god. Sumo dates back to the time of the Romans, long before Japan's feudal era of shoguns and samurai and it carries on traditions gathered over more than a millennia. It's intricately packed with Japanese culture, all of which I find fascinating and captivating. So I want to explore the thrilling sumo world in this series of posts.

I first discovered sumo when I saw the half-hour highlight shows for each night of a fifteen-day tournament decades ago. I immediately loved it for its simplicity and atmosphere. It was so easy to understand. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see it again for many years, although when anyone asked what my favorite sport was, I’d immediately reply, “Sumo.”

Fortunately I was able to see some of the two-hour broadcasts while visiting a Japanese relative in her eighties—the great-grandma of some of our grandkids. These shows were in Japanese, but she explained much of it to me. This time I loved the sport for its complexity, with all its rituals, traditions, and dignity. After watching it I had a lot of questions that I had to look up.

For the next tournament, I figured out a way I could watch both the Japanese two-hour and the half-hour English highlight shows. I learned a lot, but got more from the shows in English, although I sometimes prefer watching it live in Japanese. I quickly set about researching the sport—watching and reading everything I could find on it. And, being an author, I began taking notes.

Without knowing anything about sumo, one would think it’s just two big guys pushing each other around, but it’s actually nothing like that. It’s one of the oldest sports in the world, rich with traditions and meaning, and it showcases many techniques. It’s simple enough that anyone can easily understand the object—to force your opponent to exit the ring or touch the ground with any part of his body other than the soles of his feet—and one can easily watch the matches without being able to speak or read Japanese.

Sumo seems simple, but the sport is actually quite complex and packed with rituals and historical attire, which make it by far the classiest of all the grappling sports.

While most Americans would think the participants, or rikishi, are couch potatoes, they are actually extremely strong athletes that undergo intensive training to build up their muscles and bulk up their size. Most of them are well over six feet tall (2 m) and weigh around 350 pounds (160 kg), yet they're flexible and regularly practice doing the splits while leaning forward to touch their chest to the ground. These unassuming warriors could probably throw around any of the strongest football players. And they’re agile. Check out the following video of Ura--one of the most popular rikishi--doing a backflip from a standing position.

There is also a video of him doing a series of backflips when he was a bit younger.

The rikishi are incredibly strong and tough. One thing they lack is stamina, but like lions and tigers, they exhibit a tremendous burst of energy and strength, so most bouts are over within seconds. They are very focused and intense.

 

Go to my index of posts to see more. 

If you'd like to comment, please email me at John@AWondrousWorld.com.

Click here for the next article in this series:

Sumo is Not Wrestling

 

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If you'd like further information, I recommend the following:

NHK, Japan's public broadcasting TV channel, streams the half-hour highlights shows here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/latest/ before they do on other sumo pages of their site. There are up to three one-hour shows that were recorded live usually on Day 1, Day 8, and Day15 of each basho (tournament) that are found here https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/sumolive/. They also have information about the rikishi and the excellent short Sumopedia videos. This is your required first stop.

If you'd rather watch the full day live in Japanese, you'll find it showing on various YouTube channels, but you'll have to wait until it starts at around 8:30 a.m. Japan time to search for them. And remember, they're a day earlier if you're not on the early side of the International Date Line. The matches run to about 6 p.m., with the top division starting around 4 p.m.

The Japan Sumo Association's official site https://www.sumo.or.jp/En/ also contains some excellent information.

Since I’m interested in analysis and statistics, I also highly recommend Michael’s Ozeki Analytics blog at https://ozekianalytics.substack.com/. You can skip signing up to check it out. It can be a bit technical for some people.

For first-rate information on the individual rikishi, their abilities, and the techniques they use, you have to check out Tim Bissell’s Sumo Stomp! at https://sumostomp.substack.com/. Again you can hit “No thanks” for signing up in order to read his posts, but then go back and sign up.

Then enjoy! Sumo really is the ultimate sport.