©1987 Lawrence I. Charters
Off Duty, May 1987, pp. B18-B19.
For over 2,000 years Japanese sport has been dominated by the impressive figure of the rikishi — the sumo wrestler.
The contest begins with several minutes of elaborate ceremony. Then, two huge men wearing only loincloths briefly touch their knuckles to the ground and suddenly collide in a burst of furious action. During the next few seconds-rarely more than a minute-the wrestlers trade frantic slaps and shoves, and attempt to lift or trip each other as they grapple within the 15-foot ring. Finally, one wrestler is pushed onto the floor, or forced out of the ring, and the crowd releases a huge shout. This is sumo, Japanese wrestling with a history as old as Christianity.
A banner on the side of a Tokyo office building promotes an upcoming tournament with a print of Edo-period wrestlers. Photo by Lawrence I. Charters, scanned from a print.
Sumo is a world of contrasts, combining basically simple rules with elaborate ceremony. A rikishi (literally, “strong man”) loses if he is forced out of the ring, or is the first to touch the ground with any part of his body other than the soles of his feet. The are no weight classes or limits, and about the only techniques banned are blows with a closed hand and kicks to the groin.
The problem of how to win is more complex. The dohyo, or ring, is on a mound about 15 inches high, made from hard-packed clay and bordered by a low straw ridge. Two wrestlers plus a referee don’t leave much room for maneuvering.
There are 70 officially recognized techniques for winning, divided into four major classes of throws, lifts, twists and throws over the back. The desire to win is very strong in every match, because if you don’t win, you’re demoted. Wrestlers face a never-ending series of matches; for those at the top it can be 90 a year.
Wrestlers struggle to gain leverage at the ring’s edge. The gentleman in the elaborate kimono is the gyogj, or referee. Photo by Lawrence I. Charters, scanned from print. [Yes, Off Duty overprinted the title on top of the photo.]
At any given time there are between 700 and 900 wrestlers active in the Japan Sumo Association, divided into six divisions. All wrestlers belong to one of the three dozen heya, often translated as “stable.” These are a combination of school, dormitory and training ground. Each heya is owned by a master who is a distinguished ex-wrestler, and is staffed by coaches who have also retired from the ring. These men serve as the association’s owners and managers-a far cry from the rich, unathletic businessmen who own many American sports teams.
Only the 60 or so wrestlers in the two top divisions are considered professionals and receive a regular salary. They wear their hair in the distinctive ginkgo leaf topknot, first adopted a thousand years ago, and receive a wealth of special privileges. They wear expensive silk loincloths and their bouts are broadcast live on NHK, the Japanese government television network.
Wrestlers in the bottom four divisions are considered apprentices, and receive little more than room, board and a very modest allowance. They wear plain canvas loincloths during tournaments and their pre-bout rituals are much less involved than those of the top wrestlers. Outside the ring, they act as attendants for the senior wrestlers and do most of the chores. The only way to escape from this drudgery is to win-again and again. Some wrestlers have been trying to break into juryo, the lowest salaried division, for more than a decade.
For those who do win, sumo offers both fame and fortune. At present, Chiyonofuji is the third most successful rikishi in history, having taken 20 championships through January 1987. With each championship worth more than five million yen (over $3,200) in cash, plus a long list of sponsor-donated prizes ranging from a brand new car to a year’s supply of mushrooms, Chiyonofuji lives — and is treated — like a king.
Konishiki is another sumo success story. While Chiyonofuji is 275 pounds of muscle, Konishiki is over 6 feet tall and 510 pounds, dwarfing every other wrestler in the country. Born in American Samoa and raised in Hawaii, Konishiki (his real name is Salevaa Atisanoe) entered sumo in I982. In under two years he had climbed from the very bottom to the very top division. This year, he may become the first non-Japanese ever to be named ozeki, “champion,” sumo’s second-highest rank.
“Chiyo,” “Sale” and other top wrestlers are more than successful athletes; they are media superstars. Each receives countless invitations to grand openings, parties and dinners. They are recruited to appear in TV commercials, and are the subjects of intense speculation by Japan’s thriving gossip and photo magazines. When Chiyo’s attractive wife gave birth to a son last year it was a national event.
Chiyo and Sale help to refute some myths about sumo. Often dismissed by non-Japanese as little more than big mounds of blubber, sumo wrestlers practice many long, brutal hours every day. One of their stretching exercises, leaning forward while sitting until the chest touches the ground, is something few “skinny” people could pull off. And while Sale is famous for his vast weight and strength, in their first 12 matches he managed to beat the much smaller Chiyo just twice. A rikishi may be a “strong man,” but to win he must also be fast and supple.
Three of the six grand tournaments, those for January, May and September, are held at the Kokogikan — National Sumo Stadium — in Tokyo’s Ryogoku district. Tours offices at military bases in the Tokyo area and the New Sanno Hotel tour desk can usually get tickets, provided you give them enough notice.
Sumo is very popular, and all 12,000 seats at the Kokugikan are usually sold out in advance. There are also grand tournaments in Osaka (March), Nagoya (July) and Fukuoka (February). These are just as enthusiastically attended as the Tokyo tournaments.
One good way of experiencing sumo is to attend a practice session at one of the Tokyo heya. Not all stables appreciate visitors, and training times vary according to the season, but staff at the New Sanno Hotel can help out. The Sanno is operated by the U.S. Navy for all the services, and regularly performs miracles for those staying in Tokyo. Yukiko Fukumoto has compiled an extensive training schedule for sumo and other martial arts centers in the city.
U.S. Navy personnel have the chance to experience sumo from a unique perspective-inside the ring. For several years, personnel stationed in Misawa, at the northern tip of the main island of Honshu, have competed in amateur sumo through their own sumo club. The club has its own doyho, blessed by a Shinto priest, and in past years has managed to rank as high as third in the all-Japan amateur sumo tournament. Membership in the club opens up some interesting possibilities for twentieth-century sailors. There aren’t many who can claim they stay in shape by competing in a sport first played in 22 B.C.