Figure 1.--Here we see Japanese boys involved in a Kyoto sumo ceremony

Sumo is the indigenous Japanese style of wrestling. It is refeered to as the national sport. This is interesting. Americans call baseball the national sport, in part because everyone played it. But sumo is a sport for only a small group of highly trained and very heavy atheletes. The association with the Shinto religion probably explain why it came to be called the natinal sport. Summo is an ancient, highly ruitulized sport. Its origins seem as anient as Shino itself. The earliest known sumo wrestling was organized as performances to entertain the Shinto gods. The rituals associated with Shinto todsay are founded in these early Shinto performances. The ritual and decorum of sumo can be complicated, but the rules for the matches are quite simple. Thereare two ways to in. You either make your opponent touch the floor with something else than th sole of his feet or force him to leave the ring. The matches are generally very short, often only a few seconds. Only rarely do matches exceed one minute. Most elite wrestlers are highly trained and conditioned athletes, usually between 20 to 35 years old. It is especially important to gain bulk. Sumo wrestlers live in special sumo stables under very strict conditins. We notice boys engaging in sumo. I don't think this is a school activity. Perhaps it is a club activity or organized by local temples.

Created: 3:58 AM 4/27/2007
Last updated: 3:58 AM 4/27/2007