I was part of a large crowd gathered to see massive bodies
wiggle and jiggle, slam into each other and try to outdo each other’s
massiveness. Big booties were bared
along with man boobs.
Guess where I am? In a sumo competition!
Search for Sumo
Tickets
I’ve mentioned in my summer list how a friend wanted to see
sumo on her birthday. Her wish was granted last Monday! And I really mean that
it’s a wish because getting a sumo tournament ticket is hard. You see, sumo is
so popular that once tickets are sold online, it just gets sold out after a day
or two. We had no choice but to get up early, fall in line to get the day’s
ticket hoping we’ll get one. In reality, a very kind Japanese friend did this
getting up early and falling in line for us. By the time we arrive at Nagoya,
we already have tickets. (Thank you, Japanese friend!)
So if you’re planning to watch sumo, better watch out for
tickets online or have a very kind friend.
I only want to watch sumo because it’s very Japanese. I’m
not interested in the actual sports. It’s one of those things you do just
because it’s unique and rare like eating balut (eggs with a chick inside). I only want to take pictures I can post on FB
and make people say “Hey, that’s so cool.” (I’m boastful like that sometimes.)
Uber Ceremonial, Sumo is
Sumo is a great reflection of Japanese culture. I shouldn’t
be surprised since it’s an authentic Japanese sport.
It was originally establish to please the Shinto gods. Even
until today, the rituals done during a sumo tournament are rooted in Shinto
practices. Example would be the throwing of salt of the wrestlers before
competing which is symbolic of purification. The entrance of the yokuzuna is
also parallel with entrance of mikoshi in festivals.
In fact, sumo is so ritualistic only a fraction of the time
is spent on actual fighting. Sumo wrestlers do a lot of posturing for more than
5 minutes then they’d fight for less than 2 minutes. Even if the fight is
intense, there’s still more posturing than fighting. This is very Japanese.
Japan place more value on the process than the product. They’re more focused on
the how than on the what.
In Japan, they have a tea ceremony but it’s just basically
tea time. They have a lot of ceremonies in schools which are almost
ritualistic. They do exactly the same thing year in, year out. Only the years
and faces change but not the flow of ceremonies. Don’t matter even if half of
the people fall asleep. They have to stick to traditions. Even eating Japanese
food feels ceremonial to me. This is the
way to eat onigiri, this is the way to natto, this is the way to whatever-food-you-want. The same with
sumo. It’s is basically just like wrestling but less intense, just like karate with less moves. But what makes it different are the rituals. Very
Japanese, indeed.
Most Polite Fighting Sport
Not only sumo is full of rituals, for a fighting sport, it’s
actually very polite- a well-known Japanese trait. From the 20 matches I’ve
seen, only 1 match showcased an aggressive player. He repeatedly hit his
opponent’s face to push him out of the dohyo. And he’s a foreigner. (He lost, though) The other players used the
usual grappling or making the other person lose his balance. I don’t even think
the players would hurt so badly after a match. I think I’ll hurt more from a
pillow fight with my siblings.
There’s a silent rule in Japanese culture which is Do Not Be
the Source of Inconvenience. Thus, everybody seems to be polite. Everybody
falls in line. Drivers give way to other drivers. People try to be quiet on
trains. Bosses don’t directly tell how
bad you are as an employee. Friends won’t tell you that your breath smells bad.
At the extreme, people would rather suffer than ask for help. This is the kind of Japan I see and this is
how I relate it to sumo: The wrestlers seem more concerned in keeping
themselves inside the ring than pushing their opponent. From an observer it seems
like they don’t want to hurt each other. It’s like their movements are out of
defense. They don’t really like to hurt the other player.
I remember reading a commentary how the Japan team were not
aggressive enough during the World Cup in Brazil. They lost because of it. A
case of politeness, I think. In fact, the top sumo wrestlers are foreigners. Ironic for a Japanese sport, isn't? Maybe because the Japanese wrestlers are not aggressive enough. Sports that require a degree of aggressiveness
such as basketball and boxing are not very popular here. Maybe it has to do
with that polite mentality.
One-Chance Game
The bad thing about sumo is that it’s a one-chance game.
Each match only lasts for one round. So once a wrestler is out of the dohyo,
that’s it! Just one fighting chance. This one-round, one-chance game seems to
reflect how second chances is not in the Japanese vocabulary.
Ever heard of hara kiri? It means cutting of the belly. It’s
how defeated samurais kill themselves when they’re defeated. They’d rather die
than be captured by their enemies.
How about kamikaze? These are the pilots in WWII who flew
their planes in the enemy camp because they were being defeated. Again, death
is better than living with defeat.
At present time, Japan has one of the highest suicide rates
among developing countries. Old people jump on train tracks. Unemployed people
go at the foot of Mt. Fuji to kill
themselves. Ostracized and bullied students forget to breathe,( according to
their parents.) The underlying similarity with these suicides is the Japanese mentality
of no second chances. They think once unemployed, always unemployed. Or once
bullied, always bullied. Once defeated, always defeated. No chances of
recoveries.
For a more comprehensive facts on sumo, check this.
