Sumo Sunday

Sumo Rocks ! There is so much interesting ritual, so many compelling personalities, that I do not really know where to begin. As with most things lately, I had no idea what to expect, I was a bit worried it would be very formal and stiff and I would commit some heinous faux pas. I did know that women are not allowed to enter the ring, or dohyo, as naturally that defiles its purity, a tradition Ms. Ota-san, the governor of Osaka takes some issue with, as she is not allowed to present the trophy as her disgraced male predecessor did. (click here for concise little IHT article) But it is actually quite a relaxed atmosphere, people mill in and out buying popcorn and Asahi beer. The pace is such that you can people watch, take photos, stare at the lights, (as I am wont to do) and you don't really miss the action. Each bout is preceded by salt throwing, foot stomping, butt slapping rituals and elaborate attempts to psyche ones self up and ones opponent out. It is suprisingly suspense building, and it seems quite effective, even from the rafters you can actually see some wrestlers start to lose their resolve as their opponents' grows. The audience rather then getting fed up with the false starts as wrestlers retreat to their corners, actually grows more excited and by the time the wrestling starts, everyone is at the edge of their seats, and even we novices have a keen favorite and an emotional stake in his fate. The wrestling itself is often over in less then a minute, with the loser falling to the ground or being pushed out of the ring, and then the process begins again with new higher ranked wrestlers taking to the ring. There are a few small guys, a couple of relatively skinny ones and even a few westerners, mainly from Eastern Europe. In fact the guy above at right is a Bulgarian potentially about to break into the upper echelons of sumo.