A rishiki tosses salt to purify ring before a bout. Photo / Getty Images
A rishiki tosses salt to purify ring before a bout. Photo / Getty Images
Heavy on traditions and rituals, sumo is a sport like no other. Kate Ford explains why you need to add a sumo tournament to your next visit to Japan.
It takes only eight seconds for Tamawashi to go down. He's 172kg but he may as well be a chopstick.
The sumo bout between Tamawashi and champion Hakuho begins with bravado. The rivals toss salt into the arena, stamp their feet, and slap their thighs as they gear up to take each other down.
Tamawashi is wearing a sky blue mawashi (loincloth). Hakuho, weighing in at 160kg, is in black.
It is a brief bout of slaps and pushes and it leads to Hakuho's victory.
In sumo, the pre-match rituals often outlast the actual length of the bouts. This one, clocking in less than 10 seconds, is longer than many.
This is day 12 of the 15-day sumo tournament in Nagoya, a city on Japan's main Honshu island, about 350km south-west of Tokyo. Held at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Tamawashi and Hakuho's bout is the second-to-last of the day and it is record-breaking.
It marks Hakuho's 1047th win in only 98 tournaments.
Sumo is a sport like no other. Heavily fused with traditions that began almost 1500 years ago (according to ancient texts), sumo began as a festival tied to the Shinto religion and was a way to pray for a good harvest. The wrestlers, or rikishi as they are known in Japan, continue the original rituals to this day. When they enter the ring the rikishi stamp their feet to trample any evil spirits and they throw salt to cleanse the ring.
I am a total newbie to sumo's history, rituals and rules but I can tell you, a day spent watching a tournament is absolutely something you should do in your lifetime.
English is not spoken in the arena but upon entry you are given a daily schedule detailing who the rikishi are that day and their current rankings. It's easy to follow along and get swept up in the crowd's own rituals. There are clear favourites, who receive loud cheers and chants when they walk out to the ring. Before long you are picking your own favourites to win and cheering along like a seasoned sumo spectator.
There are few rules. The circle the rikishi fight in is about four and a half metres in diametre. To win a bout, the rikishi must either push their opponent out of the ring or cause any body part other than their feet to touch the ground.
Each bout is overseen by a referee called a gyoji, who are ranked according to their experience judging sumo. The gyoji are as interesting as the rikishi themselves and take their job very seriously. The top-ranking referees carry a dagger in their uniform as a symbol that they are prepared to commit suicide should they make an error in judgment.
The rules of the sport itself may sound simple enough, but what goes on behind the scenes to become a rikishi is gruelling and a total lifestyle commitment.
Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. Photo / Getty Images
Boys start young (there are no female sumos) and eat, sleep and train together in "sumo stables". They normally begin their day with chanko-nabe, a chicken and vegetable soup served with rice, which they chase with a nap. They practise different training techniques before having another evening meal and repeat the process again the next day.
This dedication shows on the face of all rikishi as they prepare for their moment in the ring.
As a spectator, you'll want to get a good seat but, with wrestlers sometimes being thrown out of the ring and rolling into the audience, this is possibly the one sport where you really don't want ringside tickets.
HOW TO SEE SUMO
● Sumo tournaments take place six times a year across Japan, half occurring in Tokyo. ● Tickets aren't too expensive if you are just after basic seating. We paid about $62 each for seating that was far back but we could see everything. ● You need to buy tickets early because they sell out. To purchase tickets you also need to have a Japanese address that they will be sent to (there are no electronic tickets). We bought our tickets from buysumotickets.com and just gave them the address of our accommodation once we had booked it (let your hotel know). ● The ticket is for all-day access to the tournament but most people don't arrive until the afternoon when the higher ranking rikishi are fighting. ● Food and drink, including Japanese beer, are on sale inside the venue. ● If you miss the tournament you can visit training venues. There are tours or you can find a stable (about 45 in Tokyo) and call to make reservations.
