Goo Sumo
The Technical Examination Tournament held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan just wrapped up Sunday morning at 2AM PST.
Here’s a little information on Sumo tournaments:
-they start on a Sunday and end on a Sunday
-they run 15 days
-top ranks fight every day
-the top wrestler is ranked “Yokozuna”
-a wrestler is required to succeed 8 times in a tournament for a win
-they’re not losses, they’re failures
The higher-ranked wrestlers go through posturing as many times as the referee sees fit, but the bottom-tiers skip most (if not all) of the ceremony and simply go for victory. Most Sumo Wrestlers hail from other parts of Asia, Mongolia in particular. There are very few Japanese wrestlers left in the sport due to the minimum requirements to enter. Kaio is a Japanese fighter who can make even the normally reserved people of Japan act like North Americans at a sporting event: yelling and cheering for their favourite.
The dohyo is particularly interesting, especially its construction. 18 square feet and 2 feet high, the entire thing is constructed out of a special type of clay. The out-of-bounds circle (or Janomeno-suna) is created by burying the bulk of a sake barrel covered in a straw basket. Enough of the barrel is still visible above the surface to create the 15-foot diameter that wrestlers compete in.
The rules are fairly simple, gain victory by forcing your opponent out of the circle or force him to place another body part on the surface. A finger, knee or even the top-knot count, only the feet are allowed to touch the surface. A fighter can force his opponent out but must take care that he does not steal away his own victory. The judges will confer if there is uncertainty.
There are six annual tournaments hosted in Japan every year: three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya and Kyushu. The tournament that just past was not an official tournament, but did provide up-to-date rankings on the fighters for the July tournament. The rankings from highest to lowest are:
-Yokozuna (Grand Champion)
-Ozeki (Champion)
-Sekiwake
-Komusubi
-Maegashira
-Juryo
-Makushita
-Unranked
A wrestler wins the Emperor’s Cup by achieving the most victories in a tournament. Winning against the Yokozuna is a great honour, but not required to win the tournament if your win-record is better than his.
Prizes are awarded based on victories, fighting technique, fighting spirit, upsets against Ozekis and the Yokozuna from a lower rank and via sponosorships.
Prior to the Technical Examination tournament, Sumo was the subject of controversy over fixing matches to ensure that more fighters were able to earn money. There was no Emperor’s Cup awarded at the completion of this tournament, nor was any money won (to the best of my knowledge). Tokyo Broadcasting Company did not televise this tournaments, but other companies stepped in and broadcast the feed. The lights in the hall were at half-power to reduce power consumption following the devastating quakes and problems with a nuclear reactor.
While Sumo may seem stereotypically as two fat men charging each other, the reality is there is a lot more technique than a quick glance can reveal. I watched only the last day of the tournament and noticed several different styles of gaining a victory, from the simply bull-rush style charge to lifting your opponent to pulling him forward and onto the ground. Each wrestler have moves that they’re more comfortable with, just like in any sport.
Despite their excess weight, there were several wrestlers that day who had major muscle definition, and I can only wonder at how built they’d be if they weren’t carrying an extra 50 kilos of mass.
The next tournament is July 10th-24th at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, and the friends who had me over to watch the final day of the Technical Examination will be hosting an Opening Day party and a Closing Day party. If you have nothing better to do on a Saturday night from 7PM to 2AM Pacific Standard Time (do your own timezone math), then I highly suggest giving either day a go. Of course, the rest of the days are also available, but they won’t have the ceremonies, just the fights. And if you do have something better to do, I suggest cancelling it and watching Sumo instead. Host a party, try some sake, get some food, gather some friends and be the unreserved noisy Westerners at a sporting event.
Because it’s hella fun.
–CanadaMan eh?
