The Deaf Anthropologist Goes to Japan: The Best Sport Ever in the History of Best Sports

I am as enthralled by Sumo as ever. It is the perfect sport for me. It is aflame in culture and history, drama and organized crime. The matches are no more than a few minutes, and they are explosive battles of strength and strategy. We were obsessed with sumo last time we were here and, once again, we cannot stop watching.

Sumo is over 1,500 years old. It is a wrestling match with two men trying to force the other out of the sand ring or force them to fall/touch their knee, etc. There are rules and moves. You CANNOT punch the other guy in the face. You CAN, however, slap him across the face as hard as you possibly can. This shock and awe move seems to be pretty effective to this untrained eye. It is usually the first thing they do and it is crazy to watch happen. ("holy crap did he just slap that guy?! Is that even allowed?) It is shocking and loud and looks so painful and makes you realize, this isn't just a pushing contest. You CAN give him a wedgie. You CANNOT grab his crotch. You CAN kind of choke him, but you CANNOT actually choke him. I am unable to tell why some choking moves are allowed and others are not. No hair pulling, either. We saw a sumo get disqualified after a win because he pulled on the hair of the other guy. (For more, see http://www.sumotalk.com/rules.htm). And apparently, just moving out of the way so the other guy dives for you and falls on the ground is legal, but not honorable.

There are ten ranks of sumo. The highest is the Yokozuna (we have always pronounced it "yo-ko-ZOO-nah", but I heard the sumo announcers say "yo-KOO-zoo-nah"). When we were here last, there were only two yokozuna. There was an older one named Asashoryu and a new one named Hakuho. Asashoryu has retired, and it sounds like Hakuho has the all time record for wins. There are now four yokozuna and one is Japanese (many sumo seem to be Mongolian, but there are also Bulgarian and Japanese sumo).

In the mornings, except during the tournaments, there is sumo practice at a sumo stable (where the sumo live and train). This is apparently an up and coming Japanese sumo. We are adopting him and changing his name to Brian. He loves to cuddle and something tells me he will love the enchiladas.

Here is Tina, wondering if this is sumo training or the Thunder from Down Under auditions.

The 2017 Nagoya Basho is on and sumo wrestlers (rishiki) are everywhere. They are in their yukata (summer robes) and wooden sandals. They are giant men with shiny black hair in a bun on top of their heads. They are not allowed to drive, so we see them walking and in the train stations. They seem so sweet and area always happy to take a picture with you.

Here is one taking a taxi after his match.

The two guys on the sides were not necessarily that excited for a photo. I'm guessing they lost and just wanted to go home. The middle guy, however, was so cute and smiley.

Sumo ritual is deeply connected with the Shinto religion. In front of the tournament hall, there is a Shinto shrine (ok. I don't actually know what it is, but that is what it looked like to me).

Once you get into the auditorium, there is a giant mud raised square stage with crude steps cut into it. On the top of the square in a circle 14 feet in diameter marked with what looks like a straw or rope border. If you push the sumo out of that border, you win. If he touches any body part except the bottom of his feet inside the circle, you win.

As each level of sumo starts their set of matches, they come down the aisle together (east and then west) and walk around in a circle wearing these beautiful embroidered aprons.