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Two men enter the 5-foot round platform and face the crowded arena. They clap their
hands and then stomp their legs, driving evil spirits from the ring. Once finished,
they retreat to opposite corners, each taking a ladleful of “power water” with which
to rinse his mouth and a “power paper” with which to dry his face. Stepping into
the center of the ring, they squat face-to-face, clap their hands once more, and
show their opponent that they’re carrying nothing but the strength of their bare
hands. Back to their corners, they each pick up a fistful of salt, tossing it into
the ring for purification. Returning to the center and their starting lines, they
squat down again while facing each other, staring unbroken into one another’s eyes.
With no signal or word passed between them, they spring! Arms wrapped around one
another, they shove and dance across the platform, trying to push one another out
of the ring! In minutes, or even seconds—after all that preparation—it’s over!
Sumo wrestling is said to have begun in the heavens, when the gods Takemikazuchi
and Takeminakata sumo wrestled along the coast of the Sea of Japan for the right
to rule the Japanese islands. In a more historical sense, early forms of sumo wrestling
first appeared in Japan sometime during the 8th century CE to entertain the imperial
court. These early wrestling matches became what is known as sumo wrestling today
in the late 17th century. Samurai warriors were the first sumo wrestlers; they used
these strength tests to entertain the warlords and to train for battle. Eventually,
men emerged who devoted their lives to the sport.
The Sumo Wrestler
Sumo wrestlers (called rikishi in Japan) fit into three weight groups: lightweight
(up to 187 pounds), middleweight (187-252 pounds), and heavyweight (252 pounds or
more). Despite their girth, they’re typically very healthy individuals who follow
a strict exercise and diet regimen meant to build their weight while keeping them
strong and flexible. Only men are allowed to be sumo wrestlers in professional and
traditional leagues (read on for a note about women at sumo matches), but there
are amateur women’s sumo leagues as well.
Sumo wrestlers wear their hair in a specialized topknot called the chonmage, even
while in public. During a sumo match, they appear in only a black loincloth-like
belt called the mawashi. The more decorated the mawashi is, the higher rank the
wrestler has obtained. It is essential that the mawashi is worn properly, as a mawashi
that comes undone during the sumo match results in an automatic loss!
The Match
Sumo is mostly about the theatrics of building up to that moment of anticipation:
the tachi-ai, the moment the sumo wrestlers charge at one another in a burst of
frantic energy. That rounded platform, called the douyou, is basically a stage.
In upper divisions of the sport, that stare-down before the tachi-ai followed by
salt platform purification, called the shikiri-sen, can be repeated as many as three—or
even more—times until the gyouji (referee) tells the wrestlers that the match must
begin. The victor is the wrestler who either forces his opponent to touch the ground
with any part of his body save the soles of his feet or the wrestler who forces
his opponent out of the ring entirely. All in all, the preparation rituals can take
up to four minutes, while the actual match often lasts less than one!
Should the wrestling match drag on for four minutes, the gyouji allows a mizu-iri
(a break for a drink of water). The gyouji is then responsible for repositioning
the wrestlers in exactly the same position they were before the break. The match
is allowed to continue for up to another four minutes, after which the wrestlers
are determined to be deadlocked and are allowed another break. After this break,
they start the match from the beginning at the starting lines, with no wrestler
in a more favorable position than the other. They are allowed to wrestle for another
four minutes and if no victor is determined, the match is called a draw. However,
this rarely happens. The last time a draw was called at a high-ranking professional
match was nearly thirty-five years ago!
Religious Influence
The Japanese Shinto religion plays a part in all those sumo preparation rituals.
The initial leg-stomping the wrestlers perform while facing the audience (called
shiko exercises) were born from the Shinto idea that evil spirits might influence
the outcome of the sporting match. The clapping is intended to attract the attention
of favorable kami (gods or spirits), and the stomping is meant to crush the akuma
(devils) underfoot. The “power water” (chikara-mizu) and “power paper” (chikara-gami)
are ordinary water and Japanese paper; nonetheless, they’re intended for the wrestlers
to purify themselves for the kami watching the match. Of course, the salt purification
of the platform is another religious influence.
One negative religious influence is that women are not allowed to touch the douyou
platform at any time before, during, or after a traditional sumo match. (Shinto
beliefs stated that women would taint the purity of the platform.) Even a female
governor who attended a match and gave out a prize in the late 1990s was not allowed
to stand near the platform!
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