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Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo. We were there during the September Grand Sumo Tournament, 15 days of ceremony, ancient ritual and matches. Six tournaments are held every year. Each one lasts 15 days. Three of the tournaments are held in Tokyo, and one each in Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya. There is keen interest in these tournaments throughout Japan. It is like having the Super Bowl 6 times a year. |
The flags announce a tournament outside Kokugikan Sumo Hall. Sumo originated in ancient times as religious performances to the Shinto gods. |
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On the top of the Sumo hierarchy stands the Yokozuna. At the moment there are two Yokozuna: Takanohana and Musashimaru. Once a wrestler reaches the rank of Yokozuna, he cannot lose it. However, he is expected to retire as soon as his results start to worsen. There have been only 67 Yokozuna since the 17th Century. |
The sumotori enter the ring wearing their colorful aprons. Most elite sumotori are highly trained athletes and between 20 and 35 years old. Besides working out, the wrestlers eat large amounts of food once a day and go to bed right after eating in order to gain mass. The wrestlers live in special sumo houses where the rules are very strict, especially for the novices. |
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The wrestler who either first touches the floor with something other than his sole or leaves the ring before his opponent, loses. The fights usually last only a few seconds and in rare cases up to one minute or more. |
We couldn't get tickets, so we waited out front like groupies hoping to catch a glimpse of some sumotori. Our plan paid off. |
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Sumotori exiting the gate of Kokugikan Sumo Hall. There is a sumo museum inside the hall that I really wanted to see, but during the tournament you need a ticket to the day's tournament to get in. The rest of year, it's free. |
Inside the nearby Ryogoku train station there are sumo banners on the walls and this statue near the entrance. |
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As we were leaving, this guy got on the subway with us, sent some text messages with his cellphone during the ride and got off at Akihabara and switched trains. |
The winner of the September tournament was Musashimaru who is Hawaiian, not Japanese. He bested the other Yokozuna, Takanohana for the title. Takanonana was returning from a long absence due to a knee injury. (Photo from Yahoo! News) |
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