Sumo - The Big boys Rumble

Sumo is the quintessential Japanese sport. So when I heard the big fellas were rolling into Nagoya I asked Naomi to see what she could do to nab some tickets. Its origins go back some 1500 years and recently it has benefited from a revival of interest, apparently because it’s fiercely competitive at the top right now. Tanoshikatta.

The best seats were little boxes with cushions to sit cross-legged on. I’m not the richest man in Japan so we sat back a bit but had a good view of the sacred clay Dohyo (ring) above which hangs a cabled Shinto shrine dangling coloured tassels representing the 4 seasons. The lower grade fighters whet our appetite for the real thing.

Then the big boys arrived, all unreal giants compared to an average Japanese. Their entrance was marked by a formal doyyo-iri (entering the ring ceremony) filing in in reverse rank. Finally the Yokozuna, (number 1 ranked fighter) completed the ceremony. Amazingly, the current Yokozuna is not native Japanese, but Mongolian, and 2 or 3 other fighters were from Eastern Europe, though with hair clipped up and powdered white faces so you’d hardly tell the difference. The Yokozuna performed a graceful and fleet footed performance for his statue, flanked by his sword bearer and attendants.

Foot stomping, salt tossing, and eyeballing - and then silence. They crouch, knuckles touch the floor and then the big bellys slap. Hands slap and grasp and wrestle as each fighter manoeuvres like a little tank to try and gain an advantage for a throw down or push out of the ring. It was exciting, Naomi and I made little wagers on each fight, some lasting seconds, others a couple of minutes between evenly matched fighters grappling to wear the other down.

There was a bit of niggle when one of the fighters got an extra little push into the crowd after he’d stepped out, he took exception and apparently busted an interviewers camera later on in the dressing rooms.. poor form old chap. Finally the Yokozuna as always had the honour of the last fight. The Mongolian, Asashoryu, easily overpowered his opponent prompting everyone in the seated area to stand up and throw their cushions in frustration at the anticlimax. Such is sport.

I bought a sumo Noren (door hanging) that provides a nice bit of privacy when my room is open in my new apartment I’m sharing with my Japanese friend, Tsuruyo. I’m feeling pretty settled in Gifu and it didn’t take me too long - new flat, new job and great girlfriend. Oh and a new fan to fight the 35 degree summer heat.

ps Photos in the Photolog as always Japan > Sumo

This entry was posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 2:29 pm and is filed under Japan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.