Jun 14, 2002 01:01 PM
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(Updated Aug 06, 2002 05:48 AM)
Long before The Undertaker and The Rock were pulverising their hapless opponents in stage managed “wresting” matches, wrestlers of a very different kind were going gung-ho at each other in a very different ring. Sumo Wrestlers have been pushing each other around since pre-historic times - when sumo matches were held as rituals to pray for a good harvest. Some 2500 years ago, two Japanese Gods are said to have wrestled Sumo style for control of Japan. And the winner? The God named Takemikazuchi - who not only became Sumo champion, but he also won the island of Japan for his people. Since then, Sumo fights have had much smaller stakes.
Storming the streets of Ryogoku in search of a beya [A sumo stable where wrestlers live and train] is a hit or miss business. These big men of sumo train for a fight, and then they rest. Sometimes they train, travel to a fight and then rest. You just don’t pop in to watch a sumo workout. You fit in; where you can... the impromptu is meaningless in Ryogoku. This disciplined district is Tokyo’s sumo heartland, as it has been for 300 years. It is home to Kokugikan sumo stadium as well as the sumo stables and during January, May and September, Grand Sumo Tournaments take place here in the great hall of Japan’s national sport. Three more tournaments are held in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka in March, July and November respectively.
Be that as it may, they’re unavoidable. Such bulk does not easily blend in. even in Ryogoku, they are conspicuous. When a sumo goes strolling, he takes up his fair share of space. Trouble looks imminent when they walk three abreast, but these giants are remarkable agile. [Nimble as swans ;-) lol…. readers of my reviews would know what I am talking about, if you don’t, shame on you!! :-)]
They weight up to 160kg but they are trained in manoeuvres and etiquette be fitting their rank. Their sport, which is 1500 years old, is top heavy in traditions and champions are expected to behave with great dignity, in and out of the ring. Ancient Sumo was a no-holds-barred affair but, under the 8th century Imperial patronage, the topknot pulling, choking and kicking gave way to the highly ritualized toppling matches we see today. In the times of the Shoguns, matches were banned and samurai used sumo for military purposes but, when peace was restored in the 17th century, public matches were revived.
Professional sumo comes from that time and the Japan Sumo Association has its roots there. Today’s supporters roll off lists of notables beginning with Akashi Shiganosuke. He seized the championship title in 1632. I’m battling with the complex ranking system. Not to mention a vocabulary of holds, thrusts and tricks employed to push the opponents out of the ring or- and this is the best part- force him to touch the ground with any part of his body, including his topknot or even the tip of a finger. No room for wussiness here. Heavyweights in silk loincloth colliding like whales are an awesome sight indeed.[another supreme analogy :-)]. What a crush! Then there are the rituals. The tossing of salt to purify the spirits, clapping of the hands to attract the attention of the gods, the alternate raising of each leg followed by a resounding stamp of each foot to rid the ring of any lingering elements of evil.
It’s stirring stuff.
Sumo rankings control all aspects of a rikishi’s (wrestlers’) life. It has strict rules for what time you get up in morning, when and how much you eat, and your importance in the stable. The ranking system, as I mentioned is complex. Sumo has a very exact and distinct ranking system for its over nine hundred wrestlers. Its ranking system essentially follows a pyramid structure, based on levels. The rikishi start in the Jonokuchi[first] divison. Then, if they are winning consistently, they make the Juryo rank. It’s very difficult to make this rank; the chances are about 1:10!! Once a Sumo reached this rank, he is allowed to wear a silk mawashi (ceremonial belt) and is given tsukebito [personal attendants]. As our hero keeps winning, he rises in the ranks, from Makkuchi, Komusubi, to the Sekiwake ranks. Then it gets interesting. As MS holds a meeting to decide the new Star-writer, the Sumo Association holds a meeting to decide whether a rikishi be promoted [nice analogy, no? :-)]. Among other criteria, the rikishi must win 35 wins in any 3 tournaments. This is the second highest rank, below the big daddy, Yokozuna. For this, the Sumo Association and the Yokozuna council together decide. Once a sumo is a Yokozuna, he can never be demoted. At the moment there are two Yokozuna: Takanohana and Musashimaru.
The Sumo museum in Kokugikan stadium holds the artefacts of famous wrestlers. Ceremonial aprons, hemmed in gold fringe and embroidered, some worth up to US$10,000!! Big braided hemp ropes, ornamented with paper zigzags, worn by the grand champions as they enter the ring. Tasselled fans carried by the referee, used to signal the start of the bout after he has called the combatant’s names in his high pitched voice.
These “entering he ring ceremonies are spectacular. In reverse order of rank and dressed in their heavy aprons, the wrestlers file down the aisles, climb into the ring and perform their ancient rituals. Bouts take place in a hard-packed dirt ring beneath a Shinto-style roof. Opponents crouch forward in get-set positions, fists on the ground, eyeballing each other until each one feels ready to fight.
How do they become so enormous? Chanko-nabe is their bulk-builder. It costs just 800 yen [US$5] the Beer station in Ryogoku or in style at the Chanko Tomoegata [its expensive, so be sure to act ignorant when the check comes in and let you host pick it up :-)]. Chanko-nabe is a Miso based broth of beef, chicken, fish or pork, and is served with Sake by Kimono clad ladies.
I expected it to be dreadful. Like sumo, it was delicious.
