Grand Sumo Tournament at Ryoguku Kokugikan (by All of Us)

Dad, Maura & Kara at the Match

We are relaxing at the apartment after such an exciting day! Today's adventures included a stop at the laundromat, a walk to the local bakery, and a fun-filled sumo tournament.

A Little Bit about Sumo (by Maura)

Mom, Maura & Kara on Our Mats

My favorite part of the day was going to watch sumo wrestling. Sumo wrestling is the national sport here in Japan, and sumo wrestlers are like rock stars here. Every year there are six major sumo tournaments, with each lasting fifteen days. Today was the eleventh day of this particular tournament. We had great seats and could see everything that was going on from our cushions on the floor. We also ate food from bento boxes during the match.

Sumo Strategies (by Kara)

Dohyo-iri (Ring Entering Ceremony)

I liked watching the different strategies each wrestler used. We started out betting with each other on which wrestler would win based on how big he was, but that didn't work. The biggest wrestlers didn't always win; lots of times the smaller guys would win because they were quick and got the big guys off balance. Having too much confidence wasn't always the best idea either. Most times, those guys lost.

We saw wrestlers get thrown outside of the ring and land on people watching. And sometimes, people (wrestlers) just lost their balance and fell. My strategy if I were in the sumo ring? "I'd just tickle or bite him."

The Ritual (by Mark)

Mary asked me to do a little color commentary on the religious symbolism because...that's what I do. So here goes.

Throwing Salt to Purify the Ring

When you walk into the stadium, you see what appears to be the roof of a Shinto shrine hanging from the ceiling. Under it is the ring (called the dohyo) made out of clay and sand. At the center is a rope (called shimenawa), which traditionally marks the sacred space inside the rope and the profane space outside the rope. 

The Gyoji's Side Stance = Time for More Ritual

Wrestlers are broken into three divisions--juryo (the second highest division) and makuuchi (the highest division), and the yokozuna (top rank or Grand Champion--there are currently three such wrestlers with this rank). Before each division starts, there's a ring-entering ceremony (dohyo-iri). All wrestlers in the division are called into a circle around the ring and a ritual is performed.

The Gyoji's Forward Stance Means It's Showtime

The average sumo match lasts less than a minute, but has about five minutes of ritual associated with it. First, each wrestler is called into the ring by the yobidashi (announcer who chants a blessing). When a wrestler enters, the wrestler performs a series of rituals designed to get rid of any malicious energy that exists in the ring that would be unfavorable to him. Each throws salt in front of and behind him for purification. Each performs shiko--the leg stretch followed by heavy foot stomping--to drive out any remaining demons. Each drinks from a ladle of water, which is also how people purify themselves before entering a Shinto shrine.

The referee (gyoji) wears the traditional clothing of a Shinto priest and calls all the shots throughout the match using a war fan (gunbai) -- what samurai officers used in battle to command warriors. It's also used to declare the winner of the match, which is determined when a wrestler steps outside of the ring (crossing the boundary into impure space) or a part of his body touches the ground either inside or outside the ring.

They're Just Like Us--or Not (by Mary)

Two Wrestlers Leaving the Stadium

For a whole week, we've been among the wrestlers. At the laundromat. At the 7-Eleven. Walking down the street trying not to run into throngs of people outside the train station. We see them everywhere. And every time we do, I can't help thinking about a section of one of my favorite trashy magazines that has a section called "Celebrities--They're Just Like Us!"

Newly Retired Champion Kotooshu Katsunori

But...they're not. For one, these guys are huge both in stature and in status here in Japan.  You could see a major difference in size between the "junior wrestlers" and the champion-level wrestlers -- probably a lot like college football players versus NFL players. The juniors are going to have to eat a lot more chankonabe (stew made especially for sumo wrestlers) if they want to win in the ring with the big guys. And the groups of little old Japanese ladies who stood outside of the stadium for hours clapping for every former and current Sumo star is a strong testimony about their status in this country.

Four things that surprised me:

1. The long-ish ritual for each match.
2. The rowdy Japanese crowd, who threw a sea of seat cushions into the ring when one Grand Champion was beaten by a contender.
3. No current champions are Japanese. Most are Mongolian or Bulgarian.
4. That we really, really like this sport. We may have to have sumo watching parties when we get back to Greensboro. 

VIDEO

How Quick a Match Can Be