by Emma Holdsworth
Various adverts, television shows, and influencers would have us believe that having a big body is something to be ashamed of, or to be hidden. But in sumo wrestling, it becomes an important requisite for participating in a renowned national sport intimately linked to Shintoism. Last weekend, I went to see one of the 6 sumo tournaments happening in Japan every year. Osaka is in March, but other places in Japan have tournaments at different times of the year, including Tokyo (Jan, May, Sept.), Nagoya (July), and Fukuoka (November). If you have not had a chance to see a sumo match yet, you will definitely have another opportunity, one that I highly recommend you take. It is an experience and an atmosphere like no other, even if you do not understand the rules.
After a delicious bowl of Ramen, my friends and I headed to the Edion stadium in Osaka (do not forget to go retrieve your tickets at a Seven Eleven close by, like we almost did). In the crowded streets of Osaka, we notice a few sumo wrestlers walking towards the venue. Dressed in their kimono with their unique hairstyle, they walk so close to us, that we can smell the strong fragrance of the wax in their hair. They do not seem nervous, they walk and talk like regular Japanese citizens, going to work, and it somehow adds to the excitement for the event.
The tournament starts early in the morning, and finishes at 18h in the evening, with the highest ranking wrestlers fighting last. Our allocated time is from 16h to 18h on Saturday, a time for great bouts. Upon arrival, we stumble upon an ongoing fight, in the midst of a room already filled with the excitement of previous bouts. Once we found our seats, we immediately prepared our snacks. Indeed, there’s nothing quite as rewarding as having a snack and a drink while watching half naked Japanese men fight each other.
The Art of Sumo
The tournament starts with an opening ceremony, where the wrestlers walk in a line to the centre ring, otherwise known as the dohyo in Japanese, from lowest ranking, to highest ranking wrestler. As they set foot on the dohyo, the presenter introduces them by name, and home town. Some of them receive louder cheers than others, there is nothing short of a standing ovation for Ura san, the only wrestler from Osaka. When they are all on the dohyo, the wrestlers form a circle facing the crowd, showcasing the intricate colours and patterns of their mawashi, or loin cloths, and then turn to face each other. As per tradition, they lift up their arms and mawashi in order to show that they are unarmed. Once this choreographed procession is over, all the wrestlers walk off the dohyo, and the tournament can begin.
It might surprise you to learn that the wrestling in a sumo wrestling match, is only about 30 seconds of a 4 minute ceremony, if not less. The sumo wrestlers start every match with a long, very precise, and important set of movements. First comes the typical foot stomping, or shiko, a movement where the sumo wrestlers shift their weight from one foot to another. If this is originally meant to scare off demons, the elegance and synchronicity in these movements resemble more of a dance than a scare tactic. Then comes the receiving of the chikara mizu and chikaragami, the power water and power paper, received from the winner of the previous bout. After much squatting in their respective corners, as well as facing each other, the wrestlers start to slap their own body. They do this so loudly that the sound made by their palms touching their body resonates in the entire venue. Finally, the wrestlers take a handful of salt, and throw it onto the dohyo as a way to purify it, as it is considered a sacred space. During the entirety of this preparation, the audience let out cries of encouragements for their preferred wrestler. If you thought Japanese people were quiet and concealed, go to a sumo match. Although some might argue that somehow, even cheering they manage to do in a calm and concealed manner.
The rules of the fight itself are relatively simple, if a wrestler is pushed out of the ring, or touches any part of his body except for the souls of his feet to the sand, he loses. Although the wrestling part is quite fast, we were lucky to see a literal head lock match between two wrestlers who struggled for much longer than expected. At the end of their struggle, they both fell and were thrown out of the ring together; deciding the winner was tricky, and involved the investors of the match to find an agreement. Indeed, as the national sport, there needs to be money involved. Each wrestler has investors, the better you are the more investors you have. Before each match, a procession of flags, with the name of the investors, walks onto the dohyo, showcasing to the investors to the public. I learned that anyone can invest, even particulars like us, so if you are a huge fan of sumo wrestling, maybe this could become an item on your bucket list in Japan.
When the match is over, a quick stop at the souvenir shop for the obligatory omiyage, and a bit of hanging around in the corridor hoping to meet a sumo star, and we are off. Attending this event was another eye opener to the protecting tradition in Japan, with sports such as these performed the exact same way as they would have been 300 years ago. It also highlighted that sumo wrestling is more than meets the eye. The subtle difficulty to the sport, showcases how one would need years of training and experience to master the art. It truly is an impressive testimony to the timeliness and beauty of Japanese culture.
**N.B.: Historically, sumo wrestling is limited to men, but recently, women have started to come at the forefront of this sport. If you are interested in Women’s sumo wrestling, you can have a look at the Netflix documentary Little Miss Sumo, following the story of Hiyori, a female sumo ready to challenge gender limitations in sumo wrestling.