Boys' Day Out Part 2--SUMO!!!!!



Raymond got a free ticket through school to a sumo wrestling tournament.  He could buy up to two more tickets for that night, so we had to talk about it as a family.  The girls didn't really want to go, and neither did Nathan, so that left Logan and Christopher.  Attending a sumo tournament was on the very top of both of these boys' lists of things to do in Japan--and they were soooo excited!!  Dream come true!!

 

 Here is Chris as a Yokozuna.....(Japanese seem to really like these things, they are all over)

.....and Logan as the same thing.

These boys were in the nose-bleed section, but they didn't care.  They could still see just fine.

The sumo tournament main face-offs started at 3 p.m. and it ended at 6:30 p.m.



It may seem like sumo wrestling is nothing but a bunch of fat men fighting each other while almost completely naked, but it's much more than that.  It is a sacred thing to the Japanese people, and is seeped in the Shinto religion.  It is normal practice to pray before fighting, as this sumo is doing.

 

Historians agree that the origins of sumo date back 2000 years; however, it never really flourished as a spectator sport until the early 1600's.  There are strict rules and traditions that are observed throughout the sport.  Shinto is the native religion of Japan and is more of a set of rituals and ceremonies than a system of beliefs. The word sumo means "way of the gods." Sumo was originally performed to entertain the gods during festivals. Sumo as part of Shinto ritual dates as far back as the Tumulus period (250-552 A.D.). 

To start the tournament, a Makuuchi ring ceremony takes place first.  The wrestlers are grouped into two groups—East and West—and each group takes a turn entering the ring. The lowest-ranked rikishi enters first and walks a complete circle around the ring followed by the other rikishi in ascending order according the rank. Before the individual rikishi enter the ring, they are introduced to the spectators. Once the last rikishi in the group has been introduced, the rikishi, who are facing the spectators, turn inward and face each other around the ring. After clapping their hands once, they raise their right hand, lift their kesho-mawashi (decorative aprons created for the ring ceremony), and finally raise both hands in unison. This tradition goes back to the samurai days and represents the rikishi showing each other that no one is armed. 

During the Makuuchi ring ceremony, the Yokozuna (the top ranking wrestlers--the best of the best!) are absent because they perform their own individual ring ceremonies. Yokozuna are dressed in mawashi with five white zigzag folded strips of paper on the front, the same as those found at the entrance of Shinto shrines (we see them on many shrines). On the front of all mawashi are sagari, which are fringes of twisted string tucked into the belt, and they represent the sacred ropes in front of shrines. Numbers of strings are odd, between seventeen and twenty-one, which are lucky numbers in the Shinto tradition.

There are a lot of symbols in the rink that are a part of the Shinto belief.  The sand that covers the clay of the dohyo is a symbol of purity.  The canopy above the ring is made in the style of the roof of a Shinto shrine. The four tassels on each corner of the canopy represent the four seasons, the white one as autumn, black as winter, green as spring and red as summer. The purple bunting around the roof symbolizes the drifting of the clouds and the rotation of the seasons. The referee resembles a Shinto priest in his traditional robe.

 Praying for safety before entering the ring.

 Look closely in this picture and you can see salt being tossed in the air by a rikishi.  They throw several handfuls of salt into the ring, which is said to purify the ring. Many rikishi will also sprinkle salt around their bodies as a means of protecting them from injury.

Once the actual bouts begin, the two rikishi spend several minutes before their match lifting their legs high in the air and stomping them down, a practice said to scare away any demons.  It also makes the crowd go nuts!!  It is also a way for them to intimidate their opponent.  It shows their strength and flexibility.

 Here are the boys outside after the match was over.  The flags behind them contain the names of the rikishi performing that night.

 Sumo wrestlers are HUGE, HUGE, HUGE celebrities in Japan, equivalent to NFL football players in America.  Here is Christopher comparing his hand to a rikishi's hand.

 Logan comparing his hand.

 The hand prints and these yokozuna's portraits were in the train station near the sumo stadium.

Another highlight of the evening: meeting these cool sumo wrestlers at the train station!  You know how in America, you have the Minors and the Majors for baseball?  These rikishi were in the Minors, but they are sumo wrestlers just the same!!  They also got on the train at the same time, so the boys got to be in their presence for a little while!

Did you know that rikishi stop cutting their hair when they become sumo wrestlers?  They do not cut it again until they retire.  Just another little bit of trivia.

Here's what the boys thought about their day at the sumo wrestling tournament:

Christopher:  At the beginning, I was kind of mad because we forgot our tickets and had to run home and get them.  I thought we weren't going to make it.  I really enjoyed the food Dad got us and the matches we watched.  The names of the sumos were weird, yet cool.  I really enjoyed watching the yokozunas fight, and I really enjoyed watching the ozeki (rank under yokozuna) beat the yokozuna. 

I really enjoyed the match that lasted for about five minutes.  They were just fighting for a long time and trying to push each other out of the ring.  One would regain his balance and push the other one in the middle of the ring.  They got so tired they couldn't really move, so the referee, said, "O.k., guys, stop pushing."  He marked in the dirt where they were, and then let them take a break.  After their break, they came back and put their feet in the exact spot in the dirt where they had been, and they fought for another couple of minutes.  Then, finally one lost.  (this hardly ever happens, so being able to see that was pretty special)

One of the snacks in the trail mix that we ate at the match has dried fish that is about two inches long.  It's a whole fish, they didn't even gut it.  The tail was o.k., but the middle to the head was disgusting!  Especially the head.  It made me sick.  I can't believe I ate it.  It still makes me tingle inside.

Logan:  I thought it was cool to see the sumo wrestlers push each other out of the ring.  It was awesome to see the yokozunas fight. 
I think it would be embarrassing to be a sumo wrestler because of what they wear.