According to Japanese legend the very origin of the Japanese race depended on the outcome of a sumo match. The supremacy of the Japanese people on the islands of Japan was supposedly established when the god, Takemikazuchi, won a sumo bout with the leader of a rival tribe. Aside from legend, sumo is an ancient sport dating back around 1500 years. Let me just say that going to a sumo tournament is quite the experience. The doors open at 8am and there are matches going on all day. The best time to go is actually in the afternoon when the top ranked sumo wrestlers battle it out but the cheapest tickets usually sell out in the morning. We opted to take our chances with tickets and made it around 3pm. Unfortunately the last of the cheap tickets had sold out so we were forced to buy more expensive tickets. The lady gave us a good deal though and counted Abby as free as long as she sat on our lap. There were so many empty seats that we just let the kids sit in the row behind us...perfect.
The arena was a lot bigger than I remembered from my childhood. About an hour into the matches we finally got some headsets which broadcast everything in English for us. The kids thought it was really exciting for about the first 2 hours and then they started to fade but we insisted on staying to watch the best sumo wrestlers. It wasn't extremely crowded when we first got there but by the time the highest rank wrestlers came out the stadium was packed down at the bottom. There were some pretty exhilirating bouts and we even saw one wrestler literally pick up his opponent and throw him outside the ring like it was no big deal. There was one match in particular that was probably the most talked about that night. In this bout both wrestlers went down at the same time. The officiaters all had to gather round in the ring and deliberate as to who went down first.
We all liked watching the different referees (gyoji) and what color robes they were wearing. My favorite color robes were the red ones. They would each referree a couple of bouts and then switch. I didn't know this before but even the referees are graded and only a top ranking referee can officiate at a bout involving a yokozuna (the grand champions). Also interesting to watch was the Makuuchi wrestlers (highest ranking group) in their ceremonial entrance and the Yokozuna Grand Champion ring entrance and his little foot dance across the dohyo. More than anything it was just fun to experience seeing sumo in person and seeing how big sumo wrestlers really are. It was also interesting to discover that there were a few wrestlers that were not Japanese...one big guy was Brazilian and another was Russian...go figure.
Interesting facts about sumo:
The sumo ring is called the dohyo and takes its name from the straw rice bag which mark out its different parts. The dohyo is 18 feet square and 2 feet high and is constructed of a special kind of clay. The hard surface is covered with a thin layer of sand. The bout (match) is confined to the inner circle a little over 15 feet in diameter. Over the dohyo suspended from the ceiling is a roof resembling a Shinto shrine with four giant tassels hanging from each corner to signify the seasons of the year.
After entering the dohyo each wrestler goes through a series of symbolic movements. To cleanse his mind and body, he symbolically rinses his mouth with water, the source of purity, and wipes his body with a paper towel. Certain motions are repeated like the stamping of feet. Each wrestler also scatters a handful of salt to purify the ring. This is done to insure him against injury.
A bout is won by forcing the opponent out of the inner circle or throwing him in the dohyo. To lose the match it is not necessarily to fall in the circle or to be pushed completely out. The rikishi (name given to the professional sumo wrestlers) who touches the ground with any part of his body or puts one toe or his heel over the straw bales marking the circle loses the match. There are no weight limits in sumo and it is possible for a wrestler to find himself pitted against an opponent twice his own weight. There are about 800 rikishi in professional sumo.
There are 6 Grand Tournaments a year, three are held in Tokyo, one in Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyushu. A tournament lasts for fifteen days, each wrestler fighting once every day with a different opponent. The winner of the tournament is the one with the best record of wins over losses and is awarded the Emperor's Cup on the final day after the last match.