The Japanese are some of the skinniest and most gentle people in the world, so it’s a little ironic that the national sport of Japan involves two very overweight men trying to shove each other out of a ring wearing nothing more than a silk thong.

Painting of sumo wrestlers in the ring 

On September the 22^nd (yes that is how far behind I am on this blog) we went to Tokyo for the day to watch some fat men wrestle. The truth is that it’s not just flab but there is a whole lot of muscle underneath it all. These men are huge in height and weight. They weigh anything between 29 to 40 stone and they are extremely flexible.

Barton, Ali, Tom,Cheryl and I outside the Ruogoku Sumo Hall in Tokyo

On a typical day they are consuming roughly 20 000 calories in two huge meals (the recommended intake for a healthy active man is 2 500). A typical meal is Chankonabe (stew filled with fish, meat, vegetables and tofu) which is accompanied by 5-10 bowls of rice and washed down with copious amounts of beer.

I was expecting to be bored after the first few matches but it was simply fascinating to watch as it’s a very unique sport that has kept its traditional etiquette and rituals. It may seem superficially simple; however, sumo wrestling is actually quite complex and requires not only strength but agility and skill.

A rikishi (sumo wrestler) loses if any part of his body lands outside the ring or if any part but the soles of his feet touch the ground.

Raising of the legs - a symbolic movement

Wrestling in the ring

Lower division wrestlers kick start the day’s events at 8:30am, however the majority of spectators (including ourselves) arrive about 2:30-3:00pm to watch the higher ranked divisions. After entering the ring the rikishi goes through a series of symbolic movements. To cleanse his mind and body, the rikishi rinses his mouth with water, the source of purity, and then wipes his body with a paper towel. He then extends his arms to the side and turns his palms upwards to show he is concealing no weapons. And finally, to drive evil from the dohyo(the ring), the rikishi lifts one leg to the side high in the sky, and then the other, bringing each down with a resounding stamp on the ground. Just before entering the dohyo the rikishi also scatters a handful of salt to purify the dohyo.

A Rikishi scattering a handful of salt

Apart from a silk mawashi, a thong to me and you, the rikishi are almost naked. They squat and face each other with their fists on the ground and proceed to glare fiercely at each other. This is called the shikiri. They engage in a kind of “cold warfare” going back and forth (for up to 4 minutes) before waiting for the right moment. The fight itself can be over in seconds! The best matches are always when there is an underdog or one is significantly larger than anther. One match we really enjoyed was a rather slim, muscular rikishi vs the largest rikishi of the bunch. Amazingly, in this match, much to the crowd’s enjoyment, the underdog was victorious!!!

What I loved most about this sport was how disciplined it all was. There was no arguing with the ref, no swearing and certainly no rolling around on the floor “crying” in pain! There is so much money to be made in this sport, but you certainly wouldn’t be able to tell by their reactions after winning a match, they take cool, calm and collected to another level.

On top of their salaries, wrestlers also earn money through sponsorships and other means. Kensho is when sponsored banners are bought up on stage as advertisement by prestigious companies. Each banner costs the company 60 000 Yen (£380) and each fight can have up to 50 banners. Once the match is over, the 60 000 Yen from for each banner is split, the winner will accept an envelope containing 30 000 Yen in his right hand and 25 000 Yen will be deposited in an account for the rikishi at his intai. 5000 Yen is used to pay various taxes. Now if there are 50 banners, you multiply those figures by 50 and that is a lot of money for a minute’s work. Best hourly pay I have heard of in a while.

dohy-iri ceremony (entering of the ring)

 Now, I am sure that if any of us won that kind of money in a minute or two we would be fist pumping the air running the risk of shoulder dislocation. Famously, a sumo wrestler named Asashoryu did just this (well not fist pumping, but gently raised his arms and smiled) and subsequently shocked and horrified the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee. He was promptly issued a warning for dishonorable and unsporting behaviour and labelled the “bad boy.”

I love how sumo has managed to survive with its formalized rituals and traditional etiquette intact. It really is unique. Amongst the ceremonies that take place is the colorful dohy-iri or entering of the ring. Before the tournaments being the wrestlers enter the ring wearing a glorified apron which are made from silk with elaborate embroidery and cost anywhere between 400 000 – 500 000 Yen (£2550 - £3200).

It is a great day out and the cheapest tickets only cost us 4000 Yen (£25) and I highly recommend going! It’s another thing ticked off the “things to doing Japan” list!!

Marion 

p.s I forgot to mention about my day cooking! As most of you know I am a pro in the kitchen, I am the next Mary Berry *cough cough*! I recently went to Izu-nitta, a small village nearby for the day. I met up with some lovely girls and had a Japanese cooking lesson. We learnt to make pressed sushi, Japanese spring onion and tofu soup, tempura vegetables and prawns and a jelly and red bean dessert. The event was free and the kindness of the Japanese still continues to touch me. The volunteers picked us up from the station, bought all the ingredients and took several hours out of their Sundays to teach us. I met some lovely people and it was great. Master chef I am coming!!

The girls!

The team!