On September 25th we attended the Sumo Tournament with a group of friends. On arriving at the stadium, as we were walking to the entrance, we heard cheering from a crowd who were lining the pavement. One of the wrestlers was arriving from his stable (where a group of wrestler's train) and was being given a royal welcome as he walked into the stadium. He was dressed in traditional clothes and with the very distinguished hairstyle that is so peculiar to this sport. The wrestlers all belong to a stable, where they train together. Fighters do not go up against another wrestler from the same stable.
The stadium is similar to any kind of sports arena, but the central ring is very small and made out of clay and is called a dohyo. Five judges sit around the outside of the ring. A referee (gyoji), dressed in an elaborate kimono stands at the edge of the ring and officiates each bout, at the end of which he points to the winner. The rules are simple, since a wrestler (rikishi) loses when any part of his body, other than the soles of his feet, touches any part of the ring, or if he is thrown out of the ring. Any technique or maneuver can be used, except for pulling his opponent's hair, hitting him with a closed fist, boxing his ears, choking him or grabbing his opponent's robes in an inappropriate place (my delicate version of the rules).
The wrestling bouts are between increasingly experienced and successful fighters and so the day progresses at a more and more exciting pace. There is a lot of posturing and slapping of bellies and thighs. They throw a handful of salt into the ring to chase away evil spirits and crouch down and stare at each other and then one gets up and wanders off as if he is not quite yet in the right mood....each time the excitement among the spectators increases and the stadium gets noisier and noisier. The actual bout can be as long as 4 minutes, but can also be over in seconds, so great concentration is needed.
The tournament lasts 15 days and we were fortunate to watch a terrific wrestler, Hakuho (photograph above), a 25 year old Mongolian, who was unbeaten this time around and is heading towards catching up with the all-time record. He was unbeaten in the entire 2-week tournament. By the end of this tournament, he was close enough to the record of 69 consecutive wins that was set in 1939, that it is believed he will surpass it in November. He is the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, yokozuna.
Many of today's Sumo wrestlers are not Japanese, but are Hawaiian, Mongolian, Estonian and other nationalities.
It is a terrifically exciting and absorbing sport
